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MAY 1 G

/ I :

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

THE L 33ARY
OF THE

THE RAILWAY PATHFINDERS.

In searching for a route through rugged mountainous country the man with the transit and
level often has to be slung on a crazy log platform over a raging torrent.

Railway Wonders
of the World

Frederick A. Talbot

Author of " The Railway Conquest of the World," " Motor-Cars and Their Story,"
"The New Garden of Canada," "The Making of a Great Canadian Railway," etc. etc.

Illustrated with Colour
Plates and Photographs

Cassell and Company, Limited

London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne

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CONTENTS

PAGE

AERIAL MOUNTAIN RAILWAYS .......... 35

ARTICULATED LOCOMOTIVE, A NEW AND NOVEL ...... 27

AVALANCHE, COMBATING THE ...... ... 368

BOILER, A SAFETY LOCOMOTIVE .......... 82

BRIDGE, A TELESCOPIC DOUBLE-LIFT ........ 54

BUILDING THE WORLD'S LOFTIEST BRIDGE ....... 19

CANADA, THE OPENING UP OF ..... ... 348

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY, THE . . . . . . . . 87, 193

COMBATING THE AVALANCHE .......... 368

DEATH VALLEY, THE CONQUEST OF ........ 144

DOUBLE-ENDED LOCOMOTIVE, THE " FAIRLIE " . . ... 244

ELECTRIC GIANTS OF EUROPE, SOME ........ 340

ETERNAL SNOWS BY RAIL, To THE ........ 359

" FAIRLIE " DOUBLE-ENDED LOCOMOTIVE, THE ...... 244

FAMOUS EXPRESSES ........... 331

FIRST EUROPEAN RACK MOUNTAIN RAILWAY, THE ...... 203

FLOATING RAILWAYS . . . . . . . . . . 113, 170

FORTH BRIDGE, THE ........... 264

FROM FAILURE TO FORTUNE : THE STORY OF A GREAT TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY 250

GETTING OUT OF TIGHT CORNERS ......... 133

GLACIERS, THE MASTERY OF THE ......... 220

GOLD COAST, THE RAILWAY INVASION OF THE ...... 60

GREAT TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY, THE STORY OF A . . . . . 250 — -

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY, THE . . . . . . . . .157

" ICE RAILWAY " LOCOMOTIVE, AN . . . . . . . . . 151

•7

LABOUR- 'AND TIME-SAVING TRACK-LAYER AND ITS WORK, THE ... 73

LANGEN SUSPENSION RAILWAY, THE ........ 325

LOCOMOTIVE GIANTS .......... 45, 210

LOTSCHBERG TUNNEL, THE .......... 101

MASTERY OF THE GLACIERS, THE ......... 220

MOST WONDERFUL NARROW GAUGE RAILWAY IN THE WORLD, THE . . . 297

<x MOUNTAIN RAILWAY, THE FIRST EUROPEAN RACK ...... 203

frr MOUNTAIN RAILWAYS, AERIAL ......... 35

NARROW GAUGE RAILWAY, THE MOST WONDERFUL IN THE WORLD . . . 297
NEW AND NOVEL ARTICULATED LOCOMOTIVE, A . . . . . .27

OPENING Up OF CANADA, THE . ... 348

423317

vi CONTENTS

PAGE

PIKE'S PEAK RACK RAILWAY, THE ........ '277

RACK MOUNTAIN RAILWAY, THE FIRST EUROPEAN ...... 203

RACK RAILWAY, THE PIKE'S PEAK ........ 277

RAILWAY BUILDERS' HEAVY ARTILLERY, THE . . . . . . . 123

RAILWAY IN SIAM, THE ........... 284

RAILWAY IN WILD CHINA, THE . . . . . . . . .176

RAILWAY INVASION OF THE GOLD COAST, THE ...... 60

RAILWAY SEARCHLIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . .186

SAFETY LOCOMOTIVE BOILER, A ......... 82

SEARCHLIGHTS, RAILWAY. .......... 186

SIAM, THE RAILWAY IN ........... 284

SIGNALLING WITHOUT SEEING THE TRAINS ....... 309

SIXTY-MINUTE " FLYERS," Two FAMOUS ........ 95

SPENDING MILLIONS TO SAVE MINUTES ........ 1

STEAM v. ELECTRICITY ........... 235

.STORY OF A GREAT TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY, THE ..... 250

SUSPENSION RAILWAY, THE LANGEN ........ 325

TELESCOPIC DOUBLE-LIFT BRIDGE, A ........ 54

To THE ETERNAL SNOWS BY RAIL ......... 359

TRACK-LAYER AND ITS WORK, THE LABOUR- AND TIME-SAVING .... 73

Two FAMOUS SIXTY-MINUTE " FLYERS " . . . . . . . .95

WILD CHINA, THE RAILWAY IN ......... 176

WORLD'S LOFTIEST BRIDGE, BUILDING THE ....... 19

" WRECKERS " AND THEIR CRANES, THE ........ 315

LIST OF COLOURED PLATES

THE RAILWAY PATHFINDERS ... .... Frontispiece

Facing page
THE WETTERHORN AERIAL RAILWAY . . ..... 35

BRITAIN'S FAMOUS SIXTY-MINUTE FLYER, " THE SOUTHERN BELLE " . .95

THE STEAM SHOVEL, THE RAILWAY BUILDERS' MOST SERVICEABLE TOOL . . 123
THE FLOODING OF THE SEVERN TUNNEL ........ 156

THREADING THE GRAND CANYON OF THE FRASER .... • 193

STEAM v. ELECTRICITY ......... • 235

FILLING IN A TRESTLE BY HYDRAULIC SLUICING .... . 252

BRITAIN'S ENGINEERING TRIUMPH : THE FORTH BRIDGE . . . 273

THE WRECKING CRANE AT WORK . . . . . . . .315

THREE LONDON AND SOUTH WESTERN EXPRESSES AT BATTLEDOWN JUNCTION . 331
THE CONQUEST OF THE AVALANCHE ........ 369

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE

WORLD

Foreword

O invention since the march of
civilisation began has changed
the map of the world so
completely as that of George
Stephenson. No other pro-
duction of the human brain
has introduced such a power-
ful force of conquest, development, ex-
pansion, and settlement as the railway.

The opening up of new countries and
territories by the steel highway consti-
tutes the greatest romance in the world's
history. It has shrunk time and distance,
has created new cities, has brought aridity
to fertility, has peopled the wilderness,
has subjugated the mountain, and has let
light into the forest. Swamp and desert,
sea and snow, mountain and gulch have
been vanquished in its irresistible advance.

The brain and blood, thew and muscle, nerve
and soul which have been sacrificed in
this conquest never can be forgotten ; the
men who fell in the great effort to drive
this great civilising influence forward have
built an imperishable monument which
time cannot destroy.

The plotting and building of the great
railways of the world make one long story of
exciting adventure, exacting hardship and
toil, and of prodigious difficulty overcome.
In the narration of this romance I have
been assisted by many of those who have
been engaged in weaving this network of
steel along which flows the commerce of
the world.

The railway constitutes a prolific field
for inventive effort. There are various
side issues associated with the main

vin

FOREWORD

problem of building the road, and these
have been incorporated. The primitive
tools., the pick and shovel, have been
superseded by wonderful time- and labour-
saving mechanical devices, which expedite
and facilitate the work of the builder.
Then the cry for additional railway facili-
ties, which is raised on all sides, has been
responsible for the production of improved,
quicker, and cheaper methods of opera-
tion. This question has stimulated the
evolution of bigger and more powerful
locomotives, larger freight wagons, more
capacious passenger coaches : the cry for
the annihilation of time and distance has
animated the struggle for higher travel-
ling speeds with safety. All these factors
are described in due course.

During the past few years the struggle
for supremacy between steam and elec-
tricity as a motive power has become
exceedingly acute. The attempts which
are being made, and the successes achieved,
in this direction have received their meed
of attention.

In the early days the towering mountain
range was considered a well-nigh impass-
able barrier. Nowadays the engineer does
not worry himself as to how to climb over
the obstacle : he plunges boldly through
its base. Or he lays a peculiar track up
its precipitous flanks, whereby passengers
may be conveyed in safety to otherwise
inaccessible eyries, to gaze upon majestic
panoramas of glacial scenery.

The turbulent, wandering river, the mud-
flat, the dismal desert, and the hurricane-
ravaged islet worry the technical mind
sorely, and marvellous ingenuity is dis-
played in their conquest. When all known
methods of meeting the situation become
exhausted, and prove futile, then new ways
and means have to be devised. As a result
many startling wonders are wrought.

The present generation has become so
accustomed to the railway that it regards
it somewhat with indifference. Yet it is
difficult to realise how the world rolled

along before George Stephenson's inven-
tion appeared upon the scene. If this
planet were robbed suddenly of all its
railways, a catastrophe almost as terrible
as that arising from the deprivation
of its sunlight would be precipitated.
This familiarity has served to obscure
the glamour and romance associated with
construction.

Obviously it would be impossible to
relate the incidents and episodes asso-
ciated with every one of the 800,000 miles
of steel track enmeshing this globe. I have
made merely a selection of the great roads
between the two Poles, some of which per-
haps are better known than others.

Technicalities have been simplified pur-
posely, as this work is not written for the
master of craft, but more particularly for
those generally interested in railways,
financially or otherwise. Particular in-
sistence has been centred upon the many
peculiar forms which the resistance of
Nature has assumed to frustrate puny
human endeavour, and the methods
elaborated to cope with unusual situa-
tions.

Notwithstanding a century's progress,
railways are yet in their infancy. New
construction is more active to-day than
ever. Still, while new lines are being
thrown out in all directions, and in accord-
ance with the most modern and approved
principles of railway engineering, the
pioneer roads are not being neglected.
Competition is demanding their overhaul
and improvement, and in many instances
a steel highway has been changed out of
all recognition in the attempt to eliminate
the blunders and mistakes made in the
first place. In fact, more money is
being expended in the reconstruction of
existing railways than in the prosecution
of new undertakings. This transforma-
tion forms quite as attractive a story as
that of original construction, and there-
fore is deserving of inclusion among
" Railway Wonders of the World."

RE-ALIGNMENT OF THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY THROUGH KICKING HORSE PASS.
View showing the amazing location of the new line and spiral tunnels. The old line runs through the
centre. The new line doubled the distance (8.2 miles), but halved the grade (2.2 per cent. — 116 ft. per mile).

Spending Millions to Save Minutes

MANY GREAT RAILWAYS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD HAVE HAD TO BE
RECONSTRUCTED TO MEET MODERN REQUIREMENTS

N the early days of railway
building engineers were given
very few opportunities to
display their genius and skill.
Money was scarce, and the
craving for this system of
transportation among the pub-
lic, after it had survived the first wave of
prejudice, was so insistent that the lines had
to be laid with the utmost possible dispatch.
Accordingly, the lines were laid without
any regard to gradients and curves. If a
hill stood in his path the engineer did not
pause to drive his way through the obstruc-
tion ; he either ran round or over it. A
line built upon this system certainly was
an amazing piece of work, as it followed
the inequalities of the ground, and twisted
in loops and curves like a drawn-out spiral
spring.

In the course of a few years, however,
the original lines broke down completely

under the increased traffic, or were in
danger of extinction by better-built and
later rivals. In frantic haste the engineer
was seized and told to straighten out the
original track, so as to permit faster run-
ning and heavier loads with less expense.
So far as Great Britain is concerned, there
has been little evidence of elaborate re-
modelling. The railway was a product of
this country, and the men who evolved
the invention, as a result of their years of
patient experimenting, were more familiar
with the possibilities of this method of
transportation than those who embraced it
afterwards. Some of our railways, how-
ever, have short sections of steep grades
and sharp curves which have not been
abolished yet. The most striking instance,
perhaps, is afforded in Cornwall, where,
for year after year, the Great Western
Railway found the tortuous rising and
falling line built by Brunei a heavy drag

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

upon its service. The expresses were able
to thunder over the 225f miles between
London and Plymouth at a speed of 54.9
miles an hour ; but on the continuation of
the journey through Cornwall to Penzancc
the speed dropped to 30 miles per hour.
The development of the Cornish health
and pleasure resorts demanded higher speed
between Plymouth and Penzance, as well
as heavier trains. This, however, was im-
possible under existing conditions, so the
company, without more ado, set to work to

DIAGRAM SHOWING THE RE-ALIGNMENT OF THE CANADIAN
PACIFIC RAILWAY THROUGH KICKING HORSE PASS.

pull out Brunei's line : flattening his grades,
easing his curves, rebuilding his bridges,
and laying a double track. In this manner
it has been possible to bring the Cornish
tail up to the standard of the rest of the
system. But the expense has been enor-
mous.

But this work of remodelling is revealed
in its most compelling form in other
countries, especially in the United States
and Canada. In both instances the first
lines were laid hurriedly and cheaply in
order to open up the country, or to link
together towns which were isolated hun-
dreds of miles apart. The sleepers were
thrown on the ground and the rails
" tacked " to them. The engineer, having
plenty of elbow room, wandered hither
and thither with his permanent way, in
order to complete construction quickly.

The majority of these early roads are in
service to-day, but so improved as to defy
recognition by those who carried them
out in the first place. Summit levels have

been reduced by driving tunnels at lower
elevations, so as to avoid tedious, labori-
ous climbs and waste of engine power ;
chords have been cut across loops to reduce
distances ; bridges have been thrown
across rifts and ravines which originally
were avoided by detours ; and banks have
been lowered. Mr. E. H. Harriman, when
he was called before the Interstate Com-
merce Commission, expressed the opinion
that every American railway would require
to be rebuilt, and it is estimated that over
£200,000,000 has been ex-
pended in the task of re-
construction. The expense
of overhauling many of the
lines has exceeded the initial
cost of building them. The
American railway controllers
have not been by any means
parsimonious in their enter-
prise. Miles of lines have
been abandoned in favour
of easier new routes, and
traveller, as he wanders
about the continent, can see long lengths
of these derelicts rusting in the sand,
overgrown with weeds, or undergoing
burial by rock and land slides.

Nowadays curves and grades are vora-
cious. The waste they represent is tre-
mendous. There is a single curve on a
busy continental road just outside Chicago
which represents a dead loss of £40 a day to
its company. Another line lifted dips and
lowered rises in the permanent way, as
well as straightened out curves, for a dis-
tance of sixty miles, so as to secure high
speeds and to hold its own against com-
petition. The Lake Shore and Michigan
Railway was handicapped sorely by the
meandering of lj miles of line near La
Porte, Indiana. The engineers overcame
the drawback by pulling the faulty sec-
tion to pieces and laying a straightcr and
faster length of track ; but it cost them
£50,000 to achieve their end.

In connection with this reconstruction

the vigilant

RE-ALIGNING THE FIELD TO HECTOR SECTION OF THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.
Field, the western portal to Kicking Horse Pass, and bottom of the " Big Hill." The railway hugs

the foot of the mountains.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

work some startling and prodigious achieve-
ments have been and are being consum-
mated.

When the Canadian Pacific Railway was
built from coast to coast the practice which

had governed the building of the
'*• first American transcontinental

road was followed : the line was
flimsily built, the governing considerations
being completion in the minimum of time
with the lowest possible cost. But the
inevitable happened. The line was over-
taxed, and overhauling had to be taken in
hand without delay. The most serious ob-
stacle was in the Rocky Mountains. Here
the constructional engineers, in order to
avoid expense, had introduced a bank 4.1
miles in length with a grade of 4.5 per
cent. — 237.6 feet per mile. It was so steep
that it became known throughout the
system as the "Big Hill." It arose from
the suddenness with which the ground falls
away through the Kicking Horse Valley
between Hector and Field.

The Big Hill came to be dreaded by all
the drivers who ran through the Rockies.
When they reached the top of
Negotiating the bank they shut off steam
lg and tried their brakes. They

descended by sheer gravity,
applying the brakes now and again to keep
the train in check. Switches were intro-
duced here and there, and the switchman
listened attentively for the approaching
train. If the whistle tooted a certain signal
the main line^as left open, but if the whistle
blared out another cry the switchman knew
that the train had got out of control ; he
promptly opened the switch, and turned
the runaway into a bank. One driver
who had handled the heavy freight trains
which go down to Vancouver gave me his
opinion that " running down the Big
Hill licked a lottery to fits. You were
certain to hit the bottom of the valley
all right, but whether via the railway
tracks or in a bee-line through the air it
was impossible to say ! " As may be

supposed, derailments were by no means
infrequent.

While the run down the Big Hill was
full of excitement to the freight train, the
ascent was trying to the
Overland mail. The train, as How the

a rule, weighed about 710 ",?vfr!fnl"

climbed the
tons, and a bank such as this Big Hill.

was too much for a single
engine. At Field they kept a full stable
of " pusher " locomotives, monsters of
their day, of the 2-8-0 class, and turning
the scale at 74 tons apiece. Two, four,
five, and even six engines have been
requisitioned to lift the mail over that
hump, and the roaring and belching as the
locomotives struggled up at a crawl of five
or six miles per hour transformed the rock-
strewn, snow-walled Kicking Horse Valley
into a veritable Inferno. When the line
was first built it was indifferently bal-
lasted, but the Big Hill became the
best-laid piece of track in the mountains —
it became packed with the half-consumed
coal and ashes ejected from the locomotives
as they snorted and struggled up the incline
under their loads.

The " Overland " going up the Big Hill
certainly was an impressive spectacle, but
it was poor business. The railway company
were aware of this fact ; just how much
it cost them to handle the trains over this
fearsome bank only they themselves know.
At last the management decided to elim-
inate this drag upon the high efficiency of
their system. " The railway must be re-
aligned through the Kicking Horse Pass.
Never mind what it costs." This was the
official ultimatum to the engineers, and Mr.
J. Schwitzer sallied out to fulfil the com-
mands. He searched every nook and
cranny of this wild, forbidding stretch of
the mountains, and finally came home
with the best scheme that engineering
science could offer to deal with a differ-
ence of 952-5 feet in a handful of 4.1 miles.

It was a daring proposal, and it intro-
duced an ingenious solution of a difficult

SPENDING MILLIONS TO SAVE MINUTES

problem, which, though common in Europe,
was quite new to the American continent.
He decided to use the same device as
Hellwag had adopted to secure extrica-
tion from a similar tight corner on the
St. Gotthard railway : the spiral tunnel.

in length, and therein the train completes
a corkscrew twist, emerging into daylight
almost directly over the portal, some feet
below, by which it entered the mountain.
It then runs along the Kicking Horse Val-
ley, crosses the river, doubling back upon

LOOKING THROUGH THE KICKING HORSE GULCH.
The new line of the Canadian Pacific in the foreground.

Fhe Kicking Horse Gulch did not give much
;lbow room for the work ; but Schwitzer
xitlined a plan which, although it doubled
;he mileage through the pass, yet reduced
;he gradient exactly by one-half. The
scheme was daring, but was carried out.
[n entering the pass from the west the rail-
way plunges into a tunnel 170 feet long
inder Wapta Mountain. Then it swings
iway from the old line, which traverses
;hc centre of the pass, cuts across the
Kicking Horse River, and burrows into the
jase of Mount Ogdcn on the opposite side
>f the ravine. This tunnel is 2,012 feet

itself, running almost parallel with the first
part of the line, but in the r<Jfcrse direc-
tion, to gain the opposite side of the valley
once more, where it penetrates Mount
Stephen to describe another elliptic curve
in a tunnel 3,184 feet long. Regaining
daylight, the line doubles back on
itself once again, until it meets the point
where the ^second line in the zigzag
crossed the old line, which is now re-
joined. It is a railway maze, the line
doubling upon itself twice and crossing
the river twice, in order to reduce the
severity of the incline.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The total length of the new line is 8.2
miles, and in no place is the gradient heavier

than 1 in 45.45 feet. In the
The Spiral j } t d hi h have &

Tunnels.

curvature of 573 feet radius,

it was found possible to give an easy grade.
In the completion of the work 700 men
found employment. The two spiral tunnels
were driven from each end simultane-
ously, compressed air rock-drills being used
to break down the rock, which, being of
silicious limestone, somewhat facilitated
rapid progress.

Here and there searching difficulties were
encountered. The rock was found to be
fissured, so that water gained an entrance
into the workings ; but the pumps proved
able to cope with the inflow. In other
instances treacherous layers of shale were
struck, and heavy timbering had to be
adopted, and a concrete lining afterwards
completed. When the work was com-
menced hand labour was used for removing
the spoil dislodged by the blasts, but this
proved so inadequate that powerful steam
shovels were brought up, and they kept
pace with the drills and dynamite. These
shovels were driven by compressed air, so
as not to foul the workings.

Work was maintained at high pressure
the whole time, the tunnels being bril-
liantly lighted, so that exca-
vation might continue night
and day uninterruptedly, while
in the open workings oil flares served
sufficiently to illumine the scene through
the hours of darkness to enable progress
to be maintained. At times there was
a shortage of men, especially among the
unskilled labourers, who, after staying a
short while, and having amassed a tempt-
ing nest-egg, hied on their way to the
Pacific coast, where they could command
higher pay for the sweat of their brow.
Despite these hindrances, however, the
task was completed in about nineteen
months, by which time over £250,000 had
been expended, of which sum £50,000

vanished in smoke alone, as 1,500,000
pounds of dynamite, sufficient to fill
seventy-five box cars, were consumed.
But the reconstruction has repaid the
Canadian Pacific Railway Company.
Whereas formerly a battery of powerful
locomotives was required to handle a
train weighing 710 tons, now a train
weighing 980 tons can be handled easily
by a double-header at a speed of 20 miles
an hour. Not only is the cost of working
over this section reduced by over 60 per
cent., but there is an improved time
schedule, while a greater degree of safety
is secured to the travelling public.

When the engineer is called upon to
thread a forbidding rugged mountain range,
he generally takes advantage
of the natural paths to carry
him through the obstacle. A
river is an ideal channel, although it
may possess the drawbacks of wandering
apparently aimlessly among the precipi-
tous crags, making sharp twists and bends.
The latter, however, can generally be cir-
cumvented by driving short cuts with
tunnels across the loops. As a rule, how-
ever, the waterway is constricted, and will
occupy the whole floor of the gorge, while
its level fluctuates wildly. In the spring
it is a babbling brook rolling peacefully
along ; but in the late summer, when the
torrid sun melts the snow on the peaks,
causing rivulets and creeks to dance down
the cliff sides into the main channel, then
the waterway rises suddenly to a high level,
and tears along fiendishly, sweeping all
before it.

Such a situation faced the engineer when
he was called upon to carry the railway

through Eagle Canyon, Col-

' . Railway

orado, tor the Denver and through

Rio Grande system. He Eagle Canyon,
searched the ravine, and Colorado-
found a convenient ledge, which he seized
here and there, smoothed it off, and laid
down his metals. It is a V-shaped rift,
with the mountains hurrying skywards on

SPENDING MILLIONS TO SAVE MINUTES

either hand from the waterway. But the
ledge afforded a foundation. Where it was
interrupted by knots of rock the engineer
either blew them away to the width he
desired or tunnelled them — whichever was
easier, cheaper, and quicker. He strength-
ened his rampart where it was weak with
a massive stone wall, and entertained no
apprehensions that his work would be
washed away when the turbulent Eagle
River rose in flood.

But in course of time the single track used
for both up and down traffic became in-
adequate. The Goulds got control of the
line, and, what was more, at the end of
thirty odd years achieved the height of
their ambitions : they had a connection
running to the Pacific — the Western
Pacific Railway. A new source of traffic
was tapped, to carry which rendered a
second pair of metals through Eagle
Canyon imperative.

The engineer was commanded to double

track the line for six miles through the

gulch. It seemed a simple

P°uble.T5"cking task to fulfil> but he had

different notions. The
existing ledge was just
wide enough to take the one pair of rails
and no more. The shelf could not be
widened very cheaply, as it meant trimming
back the toes of the cliffs somewhat
heavily. There was another similar though
not so well denned ledge on the opposite
side of the river. He decided to press
that to his aid.

The first thing was to control the water-
way, to keep it within bounds, so that
it could not thunder, foam, and tumble
where it pleased. He threw up a massive
masonry wall. In so doing he drove the
water back somewhat, but to guard against
all risk, the existing ridge was fortified
with new masonry here and there. The
result is that to-day the Eagle River ripples
or rushes, according to its mood, along a
big ditch, fenced in on either side by
a heavy, well-built masonry wall, which

through the
Canyon.

defies the waterway's most violent out-
bursts of frenzy.

By being compelled to take to the oppo-
site side of the river for his second line,
the engineer was brought face

to face with another obstacle.

Dodging the

Avalanche.

The cliffs are steep, but here

and there they are scarred by wide
gullies filled with loose rubble and detri-
tus. These are the tracks of avalanches,
rock-slides, and landslips. They are well
defined, and the movements follow these
passages every year, as certainly as night
follows day. These destructive forces had
to be avoided ; accordingly the engineer
swung his line across the waterway to the
existing shelf, widening it out to suit his
purpose. At places the ledge was inter-
rupted by a spur which dropped sheer into
the water. If it was not too formidable,
the engineer blew the mass out of the way ;
in other instances he tunnelled it.

It was a stupendous task, and by the
time the two sets of rails had been laid a

distance of five miles £100,000

ij. T7- . -. Five Miles,

had been spent. Yet it was -

£100,000.

considered to be well invested,
because it enabled double the traffic, at
least, to be handled through the rift. As
the engineer, in building the second
track, kept down the grade, and made
the curves easy, it was selected for east-
bound trains, as there was less resist-
ance to the locomotives, which had to
overcome a rise of 116 feet as compared
with 174.24 feet per mile on the old line.
Originally it was intended to rebuild the
pioneer track with flatter inclines ; but as
its steep grade is in favour of westbound
traffic, it has been retained.

This selfsame system has groaned for
years under the handicap of a big hump
which was introduced in the early days
between Tucker and Soldier Summit, in
order to carry the railway across the
Wasatch Mountains, Utah, into Salt Lake
City. It was a serious obstacle to economic
and rapid operation, since the drag is seven

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

DOUBLE-TRACKING THROUGH EAGLE CANYON. COLORADO.

The second pair of metals had to be laid on the opposite side of the river — on the right — for five
miles at a cost of £100,000. The " Limited " is descending the old track.

miles in length, and the gradient is 4 per
cent. — 211 feet per mile. In other words,
the train had to rise 12 inches for every
25 feet it advanced.

Stalls of pusher and header locomotives
were kept in readiness at the bottom of the
hump to give a passing train a lift. When
the " Fast Denver Limited " was being
put over the bank the, spectacle was thril-
ling. This magnificent crack train is made
up of eleven heavy Pullman cars, and in
order to maintain the speed and to keep
time up the hill, five engines had to be
called into service, four monsters tugging
for all they were worth, with a fifth push-
ing just as hard at the rear. When the
rails were greasy under snow or drizzling
rain, even this collection of engine power

experienced a stiff struggle to keep up
the regular speed.

The hump was tolerated until the close
of 1912, when President Bush and Vice-
President Brown, of the railway system,
laid their heads together and decided to
cut it out at all costs. Such drastic
action was imperative. The Western
Pacific was open, giving Denver a new
outlet at San Francisco.

The business over this new artery is
increasing rapidly, and at the same time
the mineral traffic is rising by leaps and
bounds, owing to the enormous shipments
of coal and coke from the Utah mines
to the Salt Lake, Nevada, and Montana
smelting and reduction plants, which have
become busier owing to the provision of

SPENDING MILLIONS TO SAVE MINUTES

improved transport facilities offered by
the Western Pacific Railway. The Denver
and Rio Grande Railway plays a prominent
part in this development, so the overhaul
of the Soldier Summit Hump on its main
through line could not be delayed.

In response to official instructions, the
engineers located a new route, which, al-
though increasing the distance between the
two points from seven to fifteen miles, at the
same time presented half the grade, and a
reduction in the curvature. The adminis-
tration decided to accept this solution, and
a contract was made immediately for the
cutting out of the hump. By means of
the new track the rise is brought down
to only 1 in 50 — the maximum on the
Denver and Rio Grande main line system.

The cost of these fifteen miles of new
line was unavoidably heavy, the contract
with the Utah Construction Company, one
of the great railway building forces of the
Middle West, being for £300,000, or £20,000
per mile. The railway, however, called for
a double, instead of a single line, the old
road being abandoned completely. The
revision work was of an exceedingly ardu-
ous character, the revised route running
through heavily undulating country. Al-
though no bridges were necessary, several
concrete arches were required, together
with one tunnel, 255 feet in length. The
track is heavily ballasted, and is laid with
90 Ib. steel rails.

One of the most striking instances of the
endeavour to straighten out a railway built

DOUBLE-TRACKING THROUGH EAGLE CANYON, COLORADO.

View of the shelf prepared for the new track, showing heavy masonry wall to keep the river

within bounds.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

in a hurry was on the Delaware, Lacka-

wanna and Western Railroad. As in the

case of other systems of to-

The day, this railway had a modest

Lackawanna , , ,.

Cut-off beginning, but as time pro-

gressed it threw out additional
tentacles ; absorbed short lines that stood
in the way ; and these threads were welded
into a homogeneous whole. An intricate
network of lines stretching from the Great
Lakes to the Atlantic seaboard, and pene-
trating the rich coal areas of the Eastern
States has been' woven in this manner.

The district threaded is very mountain-
ous, and the original engineers ran their
lines through the natural cracks in the
mountains, paying no regard to the big
detours, and troubling little about grades
and curves. The result was that when
later railways penetrated this rich terri-
tory with straighter, flatter, and shorter
routes the original system found its traffic
threatened.

This menace assumed serious propor-
tions. Between Hopatcong and Delaware
Gap the company possessed

Sharp Curves as bad a stretch of 39|

and Heavy .,

Gradients miles as could have been

built. It abounded in curves
which, in the aggregate, described fifteen
and a half circles, representing nearly 13
miles, while grades ran up as high as 60
feet per mile. These conditions limited
the load per locomotive to thirty cars, as-
compared with seventy-five similar wagons
which were hauled by one engine on
competitive roads.

Such a disadvantage could not be
tolerated. Accordingly the engineer was
called in and told by President Truesdale
to find a shorter cut between the two
points at any cost. Accordingly a new route
was discovered showing a saving of 11
miles, the wiping out of four and a third
circles of curvature, and a grade reduction
to 29 feet per mile at an estimated cost
of approximately £2,000,000.

Despite the alarming proportions of the

cost, the engineer estimated that one hour
could be clipped off the running time of
the goods trains, and twenty minutes off
the schedule for the' expresses ; and that
the saving in working and maintenance
charges would be sufficient to defray inter-
est on £2,100,000. Thus the engineer was
on the right side, and accordingly was told
to "go ahead."

It was a daring scheme. Here were 39£
miles to be wiped out of existence and a
new line, 28| miles, to be built at

something like £66,000 per mile. £66'°°.?

per Mile.

Mr. G. J. Ray, the engineer-in-
chief, ventured to me his opinion that
this " work is the heaviest per mile of
any large railway ever undertaken in the
United States." The earth and rock
excavation averaged about 500,000 cubic
yards per mile.

This will afford some idea of what was
entailed in carrying out the Lackawanri
Cut-off, as it was called. There was a
heavy premium on the services of dyna-
mite and steam shovels. The cuts were
amazing ; the embankments startling
There was one wide valley among the
tumbling ridges, which ran transversely
to the location. " How was that to be
filled ? " asked the farmers in the depres-
sion. " By an embankment," retorted the
engineer, and before the agriculturists in
the valley realised the significance of this
work, overtures were being made to buy
out their farms. The base width of an
embankment ranging from 75 to 110 feet
high would be too great to be accommo-
dated in the ordinary right-of-way, while,
had the railway purchased just the neces-
sary strip of land, such little pieces of
farms would have been left that they would
not have been worth cultivation. The
farmers accordingly were compensated with
big cheques for their property, and went
off to pastures new, while the railway
engineers set to work building up the
massive ridge of the Pequest Fill, with
over 6,600,000 cubic yards of spoil.

SPENDING MILLIONS TO SAVE MINUTES

The plant turned to work on this cut-
off represented a fortune in itself. One
contractor had sufficient engines and cars
to run a small railway', and he valued them
at £40,000. Every possible device which
would hasten construction, and save time
and labour, was adopted. The ridges were

instance the builders drove their way for
half a mile through granite, wherein the per-
suasive efforts of dynamite were required
to dislodge 1,000,000 cubic yards of rock.
Some of the blasts were strikingly large.
In a single detonation 40,000 Ib. of dyna-
mite shivered a complete mountain nose.

CUTTING OUT THE SOLDIER SUMMIT HUMP ON THE DENVER AND RIO GRANDE RAILWAY.
By this work a rise of 105, instead of 211 feet, per mile is secured.

not built up in the ordinary dumping way.
A ropeway was stretched across the ravine,
and from this was suspended a track laid
on sleepers. The engine backed the loaded
trucks on to this swinging track to be
emptied. At other points towering timber
trestles were erected. Rails were laid on
top, over which the ballast cars rumbled
and dumped their loads until every sign
of the timber had disappeared beneath the
big earthen bank.

The cuttings were as stupendous as the
embankments. There is one as deep as the
Pequest Fill is high, the trains hurtling
along a huge trench 100 feet deep. In one

Smaller blasts, ranging up to 1,000 Ib.,
were almost of hourly occurrence. In
fact, the demands for this rending and
splitting agent were so steady and large
that a factory was set up near Hopatcong
for its manufacture upon the spot, supplies
being delivered as required by the wagon
load. By the time the track was opened
for service over 5,000,000 Ib. of dynamite
had been used.

It was cutting and embankment, with
stretches of bridging, for every yard of the
way. Over 13,000,000 cubic yards of earth
and rock were dislodged from the cuttings
to build up the embankments, which

• • . .

THE "FAST DENVER LIMITED" CLIMBING SOLDIER

The train had to rise one foot in 25 feet, and to maintain the scheduled speed four header and one pusher

by six miles, has reduced the grade to 1 in 50.

SUMMIT, WASATCH MOUNTAINS, UTAH, U.S.A.

engines were required. A new double-track detour has been made which, although increasing the distance

The 15 miles of nsw line cost £300,000.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

absorbed some 15,000,000 cubic yards of
spoil, the balance of the material being
hauled from ballast pits which were opened
at convenient points. Then sixty-five
bridges were built over rivers and roads,
ranging from a single arch of 33 feet span

The expenditure of £2,000,000 for a
mere 28| miles conveys some idea of the
extremities to which the older American
railways are forced to go in order to retain
their traffic. In this instance the Lacka-
wanna has more than recouped its losses,

A 16j TON BLAST ON THE LACKAWANNA CUT-OFF.
5,000,000 Ib. of dynamite were used in this reconstruction work.

to a structure 1,450 feet from end to end
over the Delaware River. This latter is
the largest structure on the cut-off, hand-
somely wrought in concrete, comprising
five spans each measuring 150 feet, two of
120 feet, and two small arches over the
railway tracks, each of 33 feet, with the
metals laid 65 feet above the ordinary
level of the river. Paulins Kill Bridge is
the second largest. It is 1,100 feet long,
built up of five 120-feet spans and two
100-feet spans, with the rails 115 feet
above the level. The bridges consumed
225,000 cubic yards of concrete.

and is, in fact, placed at an advantage as
compared with its rivals.

The Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul
Railway embarked upon a striking piece
of grade revision across the Des Moines
River Valley near Madrid. Seven miles of
existing line were scrapped in favour of a
new line five miles in length, whereby 791
degrees of curvature were eliminated and
the gradient lowered by 96 feet. The new
track has been driven as straight as en-
gineering ingenuity can contrive. Where
the line crosses a deep chasm an artificial
mountain was created so as to preserve

The hillside (granite) before the blast.

After the blast : 20,000 tons of disintegrated granite.

THE EFFECTS OF 16| TONS OF DYNAMITE USED IN THE WORK ON THE

LACKAWANNA CUT-OFF.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

the grade for a double track, while the river
itself is spanned by a dizzy bridge of steel,
the feature of which is that the permanent
way is ballasted, instead of the rails being
laid on longitudinal timbers. In this re-
alignment the stations were moved two
and three miles across country from the
old to the new road.

When the railway invaded Australia the
engineers were confronted by some abnor-
mal differences in level within short dis-
tances, owing to the abrupt configuration
of the mountain flanks. This was especi-
ally the case in New South Wales and
Western Australia, where the Blue Moun-
tains and the Darling Range respectively

railway locomotive. It took Mr. John
Whitton a long time and considerable
detailed correspondence, as wrell as ex-
planations and diagrams, to convince his
superiors that a railway engine really was
superior to the horse in haulage work !

The trouble arose over the question oi
carrying the railway onwards from Penritl:
over the Blue Mountains to Bathurst. A
sheer drop of 470 feet had to be negotiated
The engineer-in-chief wanted a tunnel, 01
series of tunnels, to preserve the grade :
but burrowing was expensive, and it was
ruled out of court. The engineer stud
to his ideas, however, and so pesterec
officialdom that he got his way up to £

BUILDING UP THE PEQUEST FILL ON THE LACKAWANNA CUT-OFF.
This enormous embankment absorbed over 6,600,000 cubic yards of material.

had to be overcome. But the natural diffi-
culties were not the most serious : official
ignorance was a far heavier millstone
around the necks of the railway plotters,
and some very quaint ideas were enter-
tained by the powers that were concern-
ing the operation and possibilities of the

point, but was given a limit of £20,000 pei
mile.

Such a stipulation prevented tunnelling
as originally planned, so the engineei
devised an ingenious way out of the diffi-
culty. He brought the railway to the
base of the drop, and then started out tc

SPENDING MILLIONS TO SAVE MINUTES

climb up one leg of the V to the high-
lands above. The line could not be taken
up in a single run, as the gradient would
have been too heavy — those were days
before the rack came into vogue — so he
sawed his way up the slope. The line

The " Zigzag," as this striking example
of engineering skill was called, became
one of the sights of the country, but in
course of time it played havoc with econo-
mical operation. Train weights became
limited as well as speeds, and this

THE ZIGZAG THROUGH THE BLUE MOUNTAINS, NEW SOUTH WALES.

The elimination of this extraordinary piece of railway engineering cost about
£350,000 for a distance of seven miles.

crawled upwards along a winding incline
at 1 in 42 from one end of the ravine to
the other. Here there was a dead end,
but another gallery was hewn out of the
cliff on a similar incline, only in the reverse
direction to another dead end, from which
a third ascending grade carried the line
to the top. It was cxasperatingly slow and
perilous work, cutting the three ascending
shelves in the mountain-side, following its
windings, and erecting massive masonry via-
ducts over the deep rifts. In ascending the
mountain-side the engine hauled the train
along the bottom gallery to the dead end ;
then it pushed it up the succeeding step
to the second dead end, where the engine,
being once more to the front, hauled its
load to the top, and thence on to Bathurst.

threatened a congestion of traffic. Ac-
cordingly, the issue of eliminating the
Zigzag arose. It was certain to be a
costly proceeding. This fact was realised
fully, but overhaul in railway work is
always costly.

A new scheme was prepared, and, like
the original project, it was debated, re-
vised, restored, pigeon-holed, and revived
in turn. At last, in response to pressure,
it was attacked boldly, and a new location
was made so as to avoid the Zigzag
altogether. It was a wide, circuitous
deviation, entailing deep cuttings and
heavy tunnelling through projecting spurs
and humps protruding from the main
range. The tunnels, ten in number, for
the most part are short ; but some of the

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

cuttings arc of immense depth, one having
walls of earth sloping upwards for 132
feet. Grades were eased, and the curves
opened, the banks rising 1 in 90 instead
of 1 in 42, while the curves are of 924
feet instead of 528 feet radius. By the
time the task was consummated about
£350,000 had been expended to bring this
short length of seven miles into conformity
with modern railway ideas.

This re-modelling process is being pushed

forward more feverishly than ever in all
parts of the world. Every country is
having to pay a heavy penalty for the
mistakes of the pioneers. Every minute
which can be saved is vital to the opera-
tion of a railway in these days of bitter
competition. " Spending millions to save
minutes " may have become a trite ex-
pression, but it is the governing watch-
word of every railway between the two
Poles.

CUTTING OUT THE ZIGZAG. NEW SOUTH WALES.
A heavy cutting : showing clearing through the bush for right-of-way

THE FADES VIADUCT ACROSS THE SIOULE RIVER, PUY-DE-DOME. FRANCE.

Building the World's Loftiest Bridge

THE CENTRAL SPAN OF THE FADES VIADUCT IS 20 FEET HIGHER THAN THE
TOPMOST POINT OF THE FORTH BRIDGE

HILE it is always somewhat
hazardous to award the palm
of distinction to any particular
undertaking in the field of
engineering, it is probable that
pride of place in bridge build-
ing, so far as height combined
with length is concerned, is occupied by
the Fades Viaduct, which spans the wide,
deep, verdant gorge through which flows
the Sioule River, below St. Eloy, in the
province of Puy-de-D6me, France. It is

undoubtedly a meritorious work, rivalling
even the masterpiece of Monsieur G. Eiffel
at Garabit, not far distant. Although
not quite so long as the last-named
structure, the level of the railway metals
is over 30 feet higher. If the Fades
Viaduct were planted across the Firth
of Forth, the towers of Sir Benjamin
Baker's huge cantilever structure might
be placed comfortably beneath its
central span, and yet leave 20 feet head
room.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The urgency of this undertaking had A wide variety of competitive designs
been maintained for many years in for a bridge were prepared and submitted
order to complete the Tullc-Clermont to the authorities. After careful investiga-
and Montlu9on-Gannat railway. But tion the proposal of M. Draux, the Govern-
the Sioule River offered an insurmount- ment engineer, found favour in Ministerial
able obstacle. The ravine is a huge eyes. The successful engineer when sub-
mitting his ideas was
careful to emphasise
that the difficulties of
erection would be
abnormal, and that new,
untried methods would
have to be called into
service, the success of
which, from lack of ex-
perience under similar con-
ditions, was uncertain. The
issue became complicated,
because during the exam-
ination of the various
designs other unexpected
problems came to light, '
so that the whole ques-
tion had to be threshed
out anew.

Considerable delay thus
arose. Repeated adjura-
tions were made to com-
mence the work, but the
authorities refused to be
hurried, in view of the
magnitude of the enter-
prise. There must be no
possibility of failure ; no
cessation of work when
once started, through the
" unexpected " suddenly
deep V in the rugged centre of France, revealing itself; and, above all, absolute
the banks sloping down at an angle of safety must be assured. Every contingency
some 45 degrees to the river at the that might crop up was considered and
bottom, while the distance across the gap due provision made therefor,
at the top exceeds \ mile. Investiga- When official approval was extended at
tions proved that the only means of last, the designs provided for a bridge with
negotiating this interruption was by a total length of 1,526 feet divided into
connecting the upper points of the four spans. The outstanding feature was
V, it being impossible to carry the the main span above the waterway and
line down the valley slopes to cross at its massive masonry piers,
a lower level. The first move was the preparation of

COMMENCING THE STEELWORK ON ONE OF THE SHORE SPANS:
SHOWING THE WIRE-NETTING ENCLOSED TRAVELLER.

BUILDING THE WORLD'S LOFTIEST BRIDGE

the masonry work, and troubles were

experienced almost at the beginning.

On the St. Eloy side of the

A False Vallcv the contractor carried his
Start.

excavations down to a depth

of 23 feet to secure foundations for the
abutment, . but failed to discover any-
thing better than badly cracked rock.
Instead of driving more deeply in the hope
of finding firmer ground, he started to lay
his foundations upon this broken surface,
endeavouring to secure homogeneity by
introducing a system of interlocked steel
bars. The masonry had been carried up
to a height of 98 feet when labour was
stopped suddenly. The whole mass was
sliding downwards into the valley ! This
was quite an unexpected development.
The engineers hurriedly made a number
of borings to discover the cause of this
mishap, and found that the subsoil was
absolutely unsafe. Without further ado
the whole of the masonry was demolished
and its use abandoned in favour of a
short steel span.

At this juncture the masonry contrac-
tor died, and the whole undertaking was
suddenly thrust upon the
famous * Societe Fra^aise de
Constructions Mecaniques —
formerly the Call Company — of Denain,
who had been awarded the contract for the
steelwork only. Upon arrival at the site
the first question was the establishment
of temporary communication between the
opposite sides of the valley, to facilitate
the movement of the constructional material
and men. A small incline railway was laid
down each slope and connected at the
bottom by means of a wooden bridge across
the river. In this way it was possible to
pass from the brink of one bank to that of
the other in a few seconds, thereby avoid-
ing the tedious toil along the highway which
zigzags down the valley sides. An electric
generating station was established with
the dynamos driven by motors fed with
producer gas, since electric energy was

used throughout for driving sand-mills,
mortar-mixers, lifting gear, and a hundred
and one other operations.

The most important and difficult part of
the undertaking was in connection with
the main span, 472J feet in
length, which lies immediately A sPan

above the River Sioule. When

472J feet at

a Height of

one stands on the rails in the 434 feet.

centre of this span, the water
flows 434 ft. 8| in. below one's feet.
This central mass of steel is supported
at each end upon a huge masonry pier.
These piers are of rectangular shape, with
the longest sides parallel with the river.
They rise in scarcely perceptible curves to
the top, which gives them a graceful, sub-
stantial appearance.

The erection of the piers proved some-
what costly owing to their dimensions.
Each rests upon a solid massive plinth
carried deeply down to the solid rock. At
the base they measure 72 feet in length
by 38 feet wide, and rise to a height of
302 ft. 4 in. above the foundations, taper-
ing gradually to 36 feet by 18 feet at the
top, where they are finished tastefully with
a decorative stone coping, projecting 3 feet
from the face of the towers.

Construction was carried out from the
inside, thereby dispensing with elaborate
external scaffolding. A shaft

extends from top to ground How the
i i j ii • j.- i Piers were

level, and this vertical passage constructed.

was used by workmen and also
for the conveyance of the building material.
The latter upon reaching the building level
was handled by a small derrick which
lowered it where it was required. Granite
was used exclusively, although it had to be
brought from a quarry some 10 miles away,
while it was subjected to elaborate tests to
ensure the stipulated quality. Small cubes of
the stone, measuring 2 inches, representing
the material for the inner lining, were sub-
mitted to crushing, and were found to resist
a pressure of 7,865 pounds per square inch,
while the granite selected for facing and

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

the decorative coping resisted a pressure
of 8,8-10 pounds per square inch.

Owing to the diminishing sectional area
of the towers as they rose upward, the
space upon which the masons
toiled grew more cramped

Piers Cost
£52,000.

every day. When the last
course of stones was set in position the
labourers were almost on a level with
the tableland on either hand. Then a
heavy cradle was rigged up to encircle
each pier, and swung from the corners of
the tower tops. This was lowered, with a
small gang on board, who pointed and
applied other finishing touches to the stone-
work facing, being hauled up and down
from their working level on the swinging
platform, which was caged in to protect the
men from falling. By the time these two
lofty piers were completed £52,000 had
been expended, while the total cost of all
the earthwork and masonry for the struc-
ture was £98,000.

As the towers approached completion
preparations for setting the steelwork were
advanced. The shore span
of 380 feet springing from
the Pauniat side was taken
in hand first, in 1904. When it was decided
to erect the lofty masonry piers, serious
objections were raised in certain quarters
that high winds would set up heavy
oscillation — that they would sway to and
fro in the same manner as tall factory
chimneys and other similar structures
respond to the pressure of the winds. The
engineers, however, who had studied the
wind velocities minutely, replied that they
had so designed their work as to balance
any such stresses that could be brought
to bear upon it, and with a good margin to
spare. Moreover, they maintained, once
the steelwork was in position, that the
whole fabric would be braced together
and be rendered as rigid and solid as
a rock.

The first half of the shore section was
built upon a heavy timber falsework.

«,.
High Winds.

When the steel reached the outer edge
of this timbering it was continued over
the intermediate gap of 190

feet to the top of the first The ,steeU

„ work,

mam pier. To counterbalance

the increasing weight of this overhanging
section a huge counterweight of steel rails
was placed upon the part of the span
already completed at the shore end. The
steelwork, comprising a rectangular struc-
ture measuring 22| feet wide by 40 feet
in height, built up of two main side-lattice-
work trusses, was erected upon lines
evolved by M. Cartier, one of the engineers
to the Cail Company. There was a large
cage, which slipped over the end of the
truss. This was fitted with rollers, which ran
along the top girders, so that the cage could
be pushed forward as the steelwork crept
outwards. In order to extend complete
protection to the workmen this traveller
was enclosed in network to the top of the
sides, while the floor was solid. Conse-
quently, if a workman missed his footing
he was saved from certain death. Similarly
the loss of tools was obviated, as they could
be recovered easily.

On the top side of this cage a small over-
head travelling electric-driven crane was
mounted. As it was able
to move over the full length JJj^f1 ectric
and width of the metallic
work, this appliance commanded the
whole working area, so that the heavy
pieces of steel were lowered into position
easily, while the cumbrous tools by which
the sections were riveted up were similarly
moved from point to point as desired.
After the Pauniat shore span was completed
to the first pier, the timber falsework was
taken down, transferred by the incline
railways to the St. Eloy bank, where the
shore span, of identical length on that side,
was set in position in a similar manner.

The completion of these respective shore
spans left the long gap, 472| feet in width,
over the river to be bridged. This was the
most difficult and hazardous part of the

THE FIRST COMPLETED SPAN OF THE FADES VIADUCT.
The view shows the engineers' inclined railway down the valley side.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

THE TIMBER FALSEWORK FOR ERECTING ONE-HALF OF A SHORE SPAN.

whole undertaking. No timber falsework
was possible here. Instead, the section
had to be built 011 the overhang . method.
An erection cage, which with its overhead
equipment weighed about 80 tons, advanced
boldly into mid-air from each tower to
meet immediately above the centre of the
Sioule River. Care was observed to main-
tain the same rate of advance from each
side, so that the two cages might reach the
centre simultaneously. Erection was ac-
complished fairly quickly, the steelwork
creeping forward through the air at the
rate of 4j feet per day from each arm, mak-
ing a total advance of 8| feet per day.
When the centre of the gap was almost
reached a small footbridge was thrown from
arm to arm, affording communication be-
tween the advancing trusses, and, when at
last the two cages met, they were bolted
together, and preparations made to join
the two sections of the span together.

The connection of two such immense steel
limbs in mid-air is a delicate operation de-
manding extreme care ; the two extremities
had to be brought dead in line, both hori-
zontally-and vertically. The weight of the
overhanging sections had caused the two
extremities to sag about 13 inches. This
defect had first to be corrected, and any
possible lateral -deviation provided for.
This was accomplished by the aid of
hydraulic jacks, which were set beneath the
span on the main piers, and also beneath
the ends of the steelwork on the bank
abutments. As the weight of steel to be
moved represented about 1,200 tons, foi
jacks, each capable of lifting 300 tons, were
placed on the piers in such a manner that
the entire arms of steel could be moved
sideways as well as up and down. By lifting
the whole mass of steel on the main piers
and lowering the jacks on the abutments,
the end of each limb of steel was canted

BUILDING THE WORLD'S LOFTIEST BRIDGE 25

upwards until the deflected extremities
were dead in line.

In such work as this the temperature of
the atmosphere plays a very vital part in
the final operation. The expansion and
contraction of such a long mass of steel-
work under the fluctuations in the heat of
the sun's rays is appreciable. As the Fades
Viaduct lies across the gorge in a north by
south direction the sun plays only on one
side of the structure at a time, so that
expansion is unequal. This fact demanded
skilful treatment. The closing operation
took place on May 17th, 1909. The east
side was closed when the sun was shining
brightly. When the girders forming the
chord were lowered into position it was
found that the 1-inch rivet holes therein
came flush with the relative holes in the
fixed part of the bridge. Accordingly bolts

were slipped in and the breach on that side
closed speedily. On the west side, as it
was in the shade at the time, the holes in
the closing girder and the ends of the arms
were out by T"F inch. Consequently a tem-
porary closure was made on this side by
driving home TVinch bolts. At a later
hour, when, under the influence of the
sun's rays the west side of the bridge ex-
panded, the temporary bolts were with-
drawn, as the holes came accurately together
to permit the 1-inch rivets to be driven
home. The jacks on the main piers after-
wards were lowered, so that the steelwork
came to rest in its normal position upon
the expansion rollers.

Owing to the elaborate precautions
adopted, only one life was lost over this
great work, and this occurred during paint-
ing operations. The bridge carries a single

CRAWLING FOOT BY FOOT TOWARDS THE FIRST PIER.

Showing timber falsework for half the distance, and counterweight at shore end to counterbalance

weight of overhanging section.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

railway track of standard gauge on the
top deck. Special arrangements have been
introduced to prevent a train, in the event
of derailment, plunging over the side into
the depths of the valley. The bridge has
been designed so as to be able to withstand
any load that might be brought to bear upon
it even under the most disadvantageous
circumstances. On the upper deck there is
a narrow footway, level with the metals,
to facilitate the inspection of the permanent
way, while a footbridge, 3 feet wide, is
fitted to the bottom girders for the pur-

poses of inspecting, repairing, and painting
the bridge.

The Fades Viaduct is one of the most
impressive works of its kind in the world,
and commands attention on account of its
great height. There can be no question
that it serves as an imposing record of
the skill of the French bridge builders. It
was a highly responsible undertaking, and
some eight years were occupied in its
fulfilment. After being tested it was taken
over by the Paris-Orleans Railway Company
in September, 1909.

GENERAL VIEW OF THE SIOULE RIVER VALLEY AND THE VIADUCT WORKS
SHOWING THE TWO CHIMNEY-LIKE PIERS.

THE " GARRATT " PATENT LOCOMOTIVE. USED ON THE TASMANIAN GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS-
NORTH-EAST DUNDAS SECTION.

A New and Novel Articulated

Locomotive

AN INGENIOUSLY CONSTRUCTED ENGINE WHICH MAY MARK A NEW ERA IN

LOCOMOTIVE DESIGN

URING the past few years the
increasing demands for greater
power to haul heavier and
longer trains has been respon-
sible for the display of striking
ingenuity in connection with
locomotive design.
Recently the attention of engineers and
others concerned with the economical oper-
ation of the great railways of the world has
been attracted to quite a new and novel
type of steam railway engine, which has
been evolved by a British inventor, Mr.
H. W. Garratt, M.I.Mech.E., and the
question has been discussed as to whether
it does not indicate a new era in locomo-

tive design. Although it belongs essenti-
ally to the articulated class, it has one
great advantage over its prototypes — it
it more flexible — and appears to meet very
completely all the varying and severe re-
quirements of the average railway, from
which stretches of heavy grades and sharp
curves generally are inseparable.

It is conceded generally that inventors
have very little scope for further develop-
ment within the recognised limits of loco-
motive construction, unless resort is made
to the introduction of complications which
are apt to counteract any benefits that
may arise from the incorporation of the
new feature. The boiler and the driving

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

wheels are two vital factors, and there is
a limit to their respective diameters. The
boiler has to be disposed above the wheels,
and the dimensions of the latter influence
the former to a very appreciable degree,
because the over-all height of the engine
is limited by tunnels and bridges. If the
size of the wheels is augmented, their
axles must be brought to a higher eleva-
tion above the track, and accordingly

have free and easy movement, are rendered
stiff and unnatural, so that they cannot
accommodate themselves readily to the
curvature of the track ; flexibility, which
is so keenly demanded, is imperilled gravely,
if not destroyed.

In these circumstances the problem
which Mr. Garratt sought to solve was
necessarily of a complex and searching
character. In order to achieve any measure

EIGHT-CYLINDERED GARRATT

the diameter of the boiler must be
affected.

The questions of weight distribution and
a large grate area of proper proportions
also influence the situation very materially.
Locomotive engineers have surmounted
these various handicaps by lengthening
the boiler and increasing the number of
driving wheels, but this has given birth
to another objection. It is" useless to
extend the length of the boiler without
enlarging the grate area of the fire-box to
secure the maximum steaming capacity
and complete economical combustion of
fuel. Lengthening the boiler in turn pre-
cipitates the possibility of eliminating all
the advantages incidental to the articu-
lated system. The bogies, which should

of commercial success it was necessary to
depart from conventional lines. In this
quest, however, he has succeeded, and his
efforts culminated in the production of a
design which is distinctly novel, ingenious,
effective and economical in working. When
he had completed his ideas he submitted
them to one of the foremost British loco-
motive building organisations, Messrs. Beyer,
Peacock and Company, Limited, of Gorton
Foundry, Manchester. They readily appre-
ciated the outstanding features of the new
system, acquired the patents, and under-
took to exploit the invention. Several
months were expended upon the perfection
of the details of the designer's handiwork.
The first opportunity to ascertain the possi-
bilities of the system came when the

A NEW AND NOVEL ARTICULATED LOCOMOTIVE 29

chief engineer of the Tasnianian Govern-
ment railways suggested that small
engines of this class should be given a
practical test upon the State system of
the island.

This was about as severe a test as could
be conceived for a new idea. The loco-
motives were required for working upon
the North East Dundas section of the
State system, where the gauge is 2 feet,

as a boiler and two complete motor bogies,
one placed at each end, as the latter
carry the cylinders, pistons, and driving
gear. The boiler, including fire-box and
cab, mounted upon its frame is carried
between the two bogie trucks, so that
the wheels are not brought beneath
the boiler and fire-box. The advantage
is obvious. As there are no restrictions
arising from the presence of wheel axles,

PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVE

with grades running up to 1 in 25, and with
curves of 99 feet radius. Rigid stipulations
were laid down to which the engine had
to conform, so that it cannot be said that
the inventor was g'ven the opportunity to
demonstrate his ideas under the (to him)
most favourable conditions. Two loco-
motives were built and shipped to Tasmania
in 1909, where they have been running
continuously ever since.

The salient feature wherein the Garratt
locomotive differs from its contemporaries
is that the boiler is a distinct unit, and is
not mounted above the driving wheels in
the usual way. Fundamentally it com-
prises three sections : the boiler with its fire-
box, and two end bogies, each of which is
a driving unit, so that it may be described

the diameter of the boiler may be increased
very appreciably, while there is no fear of
cramping the fire-grate. In fact, the whole
may be placed so low as to leave only the
minimum clearance between the rails and
the bottom of the fire-box. This feature
exercises its advantages in several ways.
In the first place the centre of gravity is
kept low, ensuring steadiness and safety
in running "at the highest speeds ; the
driver has a clearer view of the road ahead
and behind, owing to the large-sized cab
windows that can be fitted ; while, if
necessary, the boiler diameter can be en-
larged to about 20 per cent, more than
is possible under present conditions, even
if a Garratt type comparable with the
huge Mallet engines is evolved.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The two end bogies, in addition to carry-
ing the driving mechanism, are also utilised,
for the bunkering of the
End Units coai ancj Water, so that a

Used for Coal • *t i t

and Water tender in the usual sense of

the word is rendered un-
necessary. The weight thus imposed not
only increases the adhesion of the wheels,
but when the locomotive is running at high
speed, they effectively assist to prevent
oscillation of the bogies, so that the wear
and tear upon the flanges of the wheels,
and. also the rails, is reduced to a minimum.
The capacity of the tanks may be varied
according to requirements, this factor being
governed entirely by the number of wheels
to the bogie and the axle-loads permitted.

In the case of simple expansion working,
the steam from the boiler is taken from
the dome by means of two regulators with
piping, one of which extends to the smoke-
box end of the central unit, and thence to
the front bogie through a flexible joint ;
the other runs to the fire-box end, and in a
similar manner to the rear bogie, a Y pipe
in each instance delivering the steam to
the cylinders on either side.

By dividing the locomotive into three

parts in this manner the full effects of

articulation are obtained.

oft™ Type- °Wing tO the "^ SCCti°n'
that of the boiler and its

frame, being kept as short as possible,
and the two bogies having free play, the
sharpest curves and inequalities in the
track may be negotiated with extreme
ease, and the flexibility is such that the
whole engine conforms with natural free-
dom to the curve. In rounding a curve,
the rigid central section forms a true chord
of the arc, while the sharper the curve
the more the centre of gravity is brought
inwards, so that exceptional stability is
secured. The extreme flexibility of this
type of engine is demonstrated most con-
vincingly, possibly, on sharp reverse curves,
which may be rounded at high speed with
far greater safety than is possible witli the

ordinary locomotive, there being an entire
absence of stiffness or grinding of the
flanges against the rails. There is none
of that climbing tendency of .the engine
which often is experienced under such con-
ditions, and which has been responsible for
many derailments. Another point which
cannot fail to be observed is that there is no
overhang of the boiler frame when round-
ing a curve, as the articulating centres are
fixed at the extreme ends of this frame.
This contrasts very vividly with the over-
hang of the boiler and frame upon the
general type of semi-rigid articulated loco-
motive, which is now so much in vogue.

It might be thought that difficulty would
arise in distributing the loads uniformly
over the axles, especially as
the weight of the fuel and The Question

water is fluctuating con- °.f Distribu-

tion of
stantly ; but with efficient Weight.

designing this is not so. The
combined weight of the fuel and water
represent such a small proportion of the
total weight of the bogies that even if the
whole of these commodities were consumed
— in actual running it is very improbable
that their weight would fall below 20 per
cent, of the full load — there is still ample
weight upon the wheels ; the variation in
the loads upon the axles certainly would
not be more than in the ordinary type of
tank engine which is in daily use.

In the first engines of this type, built
for Tasmania, there is a small bogie at
either end, fitted with two

coupled axles ; compounding Tasmanian

Experiments.

was stipulated, although it

is not essential to the Garratt system,
and its incorporation involved some-
what heavy and unavoidable compli-
cations. The high-pressure cylinders are
mounted on the trailing, and the low-
pressure cylinders upon the leading, bogie.
In this instance the steam is led from
the dome to the rear truck, and distri-
buted by a Y pipe to the cylinders on
either side. The exhaust steam is received

Front Engine Unit.

Boiler and Frame.

Rear Engine Unit.
UNITS OF THE EIGHT-CYLINDERED GARRATT LOCOMOTIVE.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

LOOKING DOWN ON AN ENGINE UNIT OF A
GARRATT LOCOMOTIVE.

through a second Y pipe and carried to a
flexible coupling or ball-joint, then under
the frame of the boiler to the front bogie,
where it is distributed by a similarly bi-
furcated pipe to the low-pressure cylinders.
The exhaust from the latter is taken back
by another Y pipe and ball-joint coupling
to the chimney, to be discharged into
the air. For simple expansion working the
cab is fitted with devices to intercept the
return of the exhaust steam from the high-
pressure cylinders, while live steam is
admitted direct into the cylinders of the
leading bogie. The high-pressure cylinders
have a diameter of 11 inches, while the
low-pressure cylinders have a diameter of
17 inches, with a common stroke of 16
inches. The boiler barrel is 7 feet in
length by 3 ft. 11 £ in. diameter outside,
and has 170 tubes of If inches external
diameter. The over-all length of the
locomotive is 33 ft. 10J in. by 7 feet wide,
and the total weight in working order is
33 tons 10f cwt.

When the Tasmanian engines appeared
they aroused considerable interest, but
were regarded in many railway quarters
as a novelty, comparable with the Fon-
taine and other unusual designs which
have appeared from time to time. But
the experience gained on the Tasmanian
railways tends to indicate that the engines
are eminently adapted to peculiar condi-
tions. While inquiries concerning the adap-
tability of the idea to other countries com-
menced to roll in, the system received its
complete vindication when the Tasmanian
Government, which first had submitted the
idea to practical trial, ordered larger and
more powerful types for their main lines.
Here again a variety of difficult and rigid
requirements had to be fulfilled, for which
Mr. W. R. Deeble, the chief mechanical
engineer to the Tasmanian Government,
concluded that the Garratt system offered
the only solution.

In Tasmania the railway situation has
developed, as it has in other countries.

A NEW AND NOVEL ARTICULATED LOCOMOTIVE 33

Increased weights had to be handled by
the engines. The adoption of corridor
coaches in the express passenger service
doubled the weight of the train to be
handled by the existing locomotives, and,
in combination with high speed, the ordi-
nary type of engine was ruled out of court
upon the 3 feet G inch gauge with grades

6 feet, and capable of attaining speeds up
to 50 miles per hour on the straight, and
30 miles per hour round reverse curves of
330 feet radius. This is probably the most
powerful articulated locomotive yet built
for passenger service upon a 3| feet gauge.
So far as the goods locomotives are
concerned, the same governing factors,

A GARRATT LOCOMOTIVE FOR THE DARJEELING-HIMALAYAN RAILWAY. ON A REVERSE

CURVE OF 60 FEET RADIUS.

of 1 in 40 and curves of 330 feet radius.
The axle-loads and length of the fixed wheel
base were restricted by the physical cha-
racteristics of the road, while speed imposed
special conditions concerning the size and
distribution of the wheels, as well as the
balancing of the reciprocating forces, so
as to prevent side .movement.

The situation has been met completely
by a Garratt simple locomotive, having
two groups of four-coupled wheels, with
four-cylinder balanced engines, each having
an inner pair of carrying-wheels and an
outer four-wheeled bogie. Virtually it is
an Atlantic type of engine adapted to the
Garratt system, with coupled wheels of
5 feet diameter. The weight upon the
driving axles varies between 11 1 to 12
tons per axle, with a rigid wheel base of
5

except high speed and axle-load, which was
limited to 9| tons, had to be taken into con-
sideration. For this work a Garratt simple
goods locomotive of the 2-6-2, 2-6-2 class
was adopted, there being two groups of
six coupled wheels, with two cylinder
engines, each having an inner pair of
carrying wheels provided with side play,
and an outer two-wheeled radial bogie, the
coupled wheels being 3 feet 6 inches in
diameter, with a rigid wheel base of 8 feet.
This arrangement of the wheels affords the
maximum-powered engine on the specified
axle-load.

The absence of side tanks and of wheels
below the boiler — the characteristic features
of the Garratt locomotive — has facilitated
the provision of a large boiler of simple and
well-proportioned design, with a wide and

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The Tractive
Effort.

deep fire-box of the Belpaire pattern. The
one design of boiler in this instance is
common to both passenger and goods
engines, and provision is made for using
oil fuel if desired.

In the Garratt locomotive the power or
tractive effort is governed solely by the
permissible load per axle,
and the number of coupled
axles, since in this type the
boiler can be made so large as to be capable
of supplying sufficient steam for cylinders
of such proportions as may be required to
make full use of the adhesive weight. For
instance, for standard gauge working, a
Garratt engine, with two six-wheel coupled
bogies — 0-6-0, 0-6-0 type — with a load dis-
tribution of 18 tons per axle, has a tractive
effort of 50,000 Ib. Such an engine on
the level could haul 3,000 tons, or 850
tons up a grade of 1 in 50, at a speed of
10 miles per hour. The total weight of
the locomotive — no tender — would be about
108 tons, and the total length about 62
feet. Similarly, another engine, with two
eight-wheel coupled bogies — 0-8-0, 0-8-0
type — having a load of 20 tons per axle,
has a tractive effort of 72,000 Ib. This
would be sufficient to pull 4,500 tons on
the level, or 1,200 tons up a bank of 1 in
50, at 10 miles per hour. In this case,
while the engine would weigh 160 tons
complete, and have an over-all length of
about 67 feet, the longest rigid portion
would only be some 30 feet.

Up to the present engines of this design
have not been adopted for working upon
standard gauge railways, but owing to
the success of the engine upon narrower
gauges, combined with its great possi-
bilities, the day doubtless is approaching
when it will be taken up for such work.
It may not be seen for some time in this
country, since the problem of the railway
locomotive is not so acute as in the United
States, Canada, and India, where heavy
banks, sharp curves, and mammoth train
loads are more common.

Railway operators cannot fail to appre-
ciate other advantages which the system
offers, and which tend to-
wards highly economical f^vstfrn. ^
working. The design and
arrangement conduce to easy riding, so that
the track is given a longer lease of life,
while the engine itself is spared those severe
racking strains and stresses inseparable
from the conventional articulated locomo-
tive. It forms a perfect double-ender, and
can be driven in either direction. This
facility affects another question. Turning
for every trip is dispensed with, so that
turntables are not required. This in itself
represents a distinct advantage, seeing
that the monster locomotives used for
handling heavy loads demand turntables
ranging up to 90 and 100 feet in length,
with massive foundations. If the develop-
ment of the Mallet engine offers any
criterion of the limits to which loco-
motive dimensions and weight may be
carried, it is not impossible to assume
that the Garratt engine will undergo
development to the same degree, giving
greater power with smaller dimensions.
This possibility has been anticipated, since,
if the boiler is brought up to the height of
the largest Mallets, the outlook from the
cab will be reduced. This disability will
be met by placing another cab forward
of the smoke-stack, to be used for
forward running, the existing cab being
employed for driving in the reverse
direction.

The ease with which overhaul and clean-
ing operations can be carried out must
not be overlooked. Owing to the fire-box
being free from the presence of wheels and
tanks in close proximity, the wash-out
plugs, etc., are quite accessible, as is also
the ashpan for the rapid clearing out of
ashes. By lifting the boiler unit and
making a few disconnections, the two
bogies can be drawn quite clear, the three
units being thus easily accessible for over-
hauling.

OF (HE
UNIVERSITY OP ILUNCb

THE WETTERHORN AERIAL RAILWAY

Aerial Mountain Railways

THE METHOD OF ALPINE VIEWING WHICH IS SAFE, LUXURIOUS, RAPID,

AND POPULAR

HILE the cog-wheel railway for
the ascent of steep mountains
has been brought to a high
standard of development, and
has been adopted widely during
the past forty years, it is some-
what expensive, both as regards

aerial railways for the transport of mer-
chandise, was requested to instal a similar
line between the mill and the residential
centre. It was completed at a cost of
some £5,000, and met the situation very
completely.

The line is carried upon lattice steel

first cost and maintenance.
The result is that many of
the grandest and steepest
mountains still are able to
defy railway conquest.

During the past few years,
however, a new system of
railway mountaineering has
been perfected, and has been
brought into practical oper-
ation both among the Alps
and the American Rockies.
This is the aerial railway,
wherein the car is slung from
a wheeled bogie carriage
running along a steel cable
stretched through the air.

This idea was introduced
by a British firm many years
ago. The proprietors of a
sugar-mill in Hong Kong
acquired a site upon the
elevated plateau overlooking
the coast for the housing
of their European staff, the
level of the works being
somewhat unhealthy. In
order to expedite and facili-
tate movement between the
two points, the London firm
of Bullivant, which had pre-
viously completed several

A CAR ON THE WETTERHORN AERIAL RAILWAY.
The two cables forming the track are mounted one above

the other.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

THE UPPER STATION ON THE WETTERHORN AERIAL
RAILWAY.

Over 6,000 feet above sea level.

towers, the track being a single steel rope,
along which runs a two-wheeled truck, from
which is suspended the travelling carriage,
resembling a light double deck seat with the
passengers sitting back to back. An end-
less rope attached to the car hauls it up
and down at a maximum speed of 8 miles
per hour.

Since this pioneer line was built aerial
railway travelling has made giant strides.
The Hong Kong undertaking is a private
concern, so when it came to catering for
the public upon similar lines, many ques-
tions had to be taken into consideration
which did not affect the first-named enter-
prise. The first public railway of this
character, designed essentially for public
service, was that up the Wetterhorn, in the
Bernese Oberland. The idea was elabor-
ated by Herr Feldmann, who supervised

the construction of the Barmen-
Elberfeld suspension railway,
described in another chapter.

This engineer evolved an en-
tirely new system, so far as its
details were concerned, wherein
unassailable security was ensured.
He adopted two ropes to form a
track, one being placed above the
other. There are two tracks, each
carrying a car, and as the latter
are connected together by the
hoisting rope, one ascends while
the other descends, thereby se-
curing a certain measure of
counterbalancing, as is adopted
on the incline railway. By dis-
posing the two ropes, forming a
single track, one above the other,
and by using a four-wheeled
travelling truck having two
wheels on each rope, increased
stability of the suspended cars
— especially in high winds — was
obtained.

Although this ingenious en-
gineer did not live to see his
idea carried into practical appli-
cation, yet his plans were prepared so
completely that they were easy to fulfil.
The contract was undertaken by Messrs.
Von de Roll, of the Fonderie de Berne,
who have made a speciality of mountain
railway engineering in all its varied
branches.

The lower station is situate at an eleva-
tion of about 5,500 feet above sea level,
while the upper station is 1,380 feet higher
and 1,200 feet distant in a horizontal line.
The gradient is thus somewhat steep. The
track cables are each 1'93 inches in diameter,
and are built up of 96 steel wires disposed
in five layers around a central wire. The
two cables forming a single track are spaced
2f feet apart, while 26 feet separates the
two lines. Each cable weighs 7'4 Ib. per
foot, and is able to withstand a stress of
154 tons, so that with the estimated

AERIAL MOUNTAIN RAILWAYS

maximum load per cable of 13'8 tons there
is a very wide margin of safety. The cables
are maintained at a constant tension by
the aid of a counterweight of 18| tons in
the lower station, and any weakening of
either cable is compensated automatically.
Should one cable break, the second is quite
strong enough to support the car.

The travelling truck, as already men-
tioned, is fitted with four wheels and a
guide wheel, two running on the upper side
of each supporting cable, while the framing
ensures the wheels securing a constant grip
upon their respective surfaces, so that
derailment is impossible. Each truck is
coupled to two hoisting cables, 1'14 inches
diameter, built up of 90 steel wires woven
together in six strands. These cables will
withstand a pull of 43 tons before breaking,
but in service the strain is only 2j tons.
They are connected to the travelling truck
through a cross arm which brings them

5'4 feet apart. The cars are attached to
the respective ends of these hoisting cables,
which are passed round two winding drums
driven by a 45-horse-powcr electric motor
in the upper station.

From the wheeled truck depends the
triangular framing from which the car is
suspended. The carriage is about 10 feet
square and 8 feet in height, with seating
capacity for eight passengers and the
driver. If required, however, seventeen
people can Jbe carried, there being standing
space for nine persons. Each car in the
empty condition weighs over 4 tons, so
that when fully loaded the total weight is
well over 5 tons.

The safety devices which are incorpor-
ated to ensure the security of the passengers
are of a very complete character. The
travelling truck carries automatically oper-
ating brakes. If a hoisting cable should
snap the car is arrested immediately, the

INTERIOR OF THE DRIVING STATION, WETTERHORN AERIAL RAILWAY.
Showing the two great winding drums driven by a 45-horse-power electric motor.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

brake being so powerful that it is able
to bring the vehicle to a standstill, when
travelling at full speed, within less than one
foot. This brake can also be applied by the
driver from the car ; but in any event he
has to climb to the railed-in roof of the
car to reset it before the journey can be
resumed.

The driving station also is supplied with

numerous devices to the same end. If the

electric current supply should

The Car faji) the car attain too high a

Cannot ,

Run Away. sPeec>> or the machinery reveal

some defect, a magnetic brake
acts on the winding gear. The engineer is
supplied with indicators which reveal the
speed and position of the cars on the track
throughout the journey. So a car can-
not run away.

Failure of the electric current from the

public supply, however, does not bring the

railway to a complete stand-

Supplemen- stiH. In the lower station is a
tary Electric , . . .

Supply. secondary battery, which is

kept fully charged, and this is
able to run the vehicles through twenty-five
journeys. Neither can the passengers be-
come stranded on the track midway between
the two stations. If the machinery breaks
down completely the winding sheaves can
be operated by manual effort to bring the
cars in. As it is quite possible, although
very remote, that a car may come to a
standstill along the track owing to some
defect developing in its mechanism, there
is a small emergency car which can be let
down the track to the stalled vehicle to
take off the passengers ; this little vehicle
can be operated either through a small
electric motor or by hand.

The cars are suspended from their carry-
ing truck in such a way that they maintain
an even deck throughout the
Car is journey, irrespective of the in-

Always
Horizontal.

clination of the track. Thus on

the uppermost section of the
line, where the gradient is exceedingly severe
— it is almost vertical — the feeling of being

transported in a lift is conveyed, there
being no impression of the steepness of
the climb, except by taking stock of the
surroundings.

After being submitted to the most exact-
ing tests by the Swiss authorities, the
Wetterhorn Aerial Railway was opened for
public service in July, 1908. Since then it
has been running continually without the
slightest mishap.

Herr Josef Stamer, of Bozen, had con-
templated a similar conquest of the Kohlerer
mountain in the Austrian Tyrol.
This peak was provided with a The
primitive aerial ropeway carried
on wooden supports, but under
the tourist development of the country it
demanded modernisation. Herr Stafflcr
decided to adopt an aerial system as being
cheaper, quicker, and more satisfactory,
and forthwith discussed the question with
Adolf Bleichert and Company, the well-
known London and Leipzig firm, who have
completed some of the most noteworthy
aerial railways of the world. A scheme
was evolved, and in this instance, as in
Switzerland, the Austrian Government had
to be satisfied very completely upon the
adequacy of the public safeguards.

This aerial railway commences at Eisack,
and soars up the mountain side for a dis-
tance of 5,250 feet. The dis-
tance is not covered in a Track

, ., f Supported

single span, as in the case of on xowers>

the Wetterhorn line. Twelve
lattice steel towers are introduced at in-
tervals to support the track. The latter
comprises two steel ropes, each about
1|-J inches in diameter, and spaced about
19 J inches apart. There are two tracks,
one for each car, the railway being run
upon the counter- balancing system. At
the upper station the ropes are anchored
in the mountain side, while at the lower
end they are connected to massive weights,
placed in a pit, in order to maintain the
tension.

There are two hoisting ropes attached to

CAR ON THE KOHLERER AERIAL RAILWAY.
It maintains a horizontal position throughout the ascent of 5,250 feet.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

the travelling truck, which is fitted with
four wheels, two running on each rope. In
this instance the two ropes are placed side

THE DRIVING GEAR OF THE KOHLERER AERIAL RAILWAY.
The machinery is electrically operated.

by side, instead of one above the other,
as in the Wetterhorn railway.

The towers supporting the track are of
heavy construction, built on massive founda-
tions. Their height varies from 23 to
97| feet, according to the configuration of
the mountain flank. The ropes are carried
upon the supporting brackets in such a

manner that no jar or oscillation is imparted
to the car as its track wheels pass over.
The travelling speed is about 10 feet per

second, and the
complete journey
occupies about
thirteen minutes.
The railway is
electrically oper-
ated, and the
starting always is
carried out from
the upper station
after the visual
and acoustic sig-
nals have been
transmitted and
acknowledged be-
tween the two
points. Electricity
is drawn from a
neighbouring gen-
crating station. As
the railway works
upon the counter-
balancing system,
the additional
power required is
not very great.
An electric motor
drives a wheel to
which is coupled
the cable sheave
or pulley, round
which the cable
is wound several
times. Thus the
drive is as direct
as possible, while
three braking sys-
tems serve to control the mechanism very
adequately.

The car itself is suspended from the
travelling truck in such a way that it main-
tains a horizontal position, irrespective of
the gradient, and as it is fitted with large
plate-glass windows, the sixteen passengers
are afforded magnificent uninterrupted

AERIAL MOUNTAIN RAILWAYS

The
Brakes.

views from their seats within. The roof is
flat, and means of access to the overhead
equipment is afforded for the driver in
the event of anything going wrong or of
attention to the track and truck being
necessary. The suspender is a heavy piece
of nickel steel, and the construction thereof,
in conjunction with the wheeled truck, is
such that it is impossible for the car to
fall from the track.

The braking arrangements are of an
elaborate character to secure the unques-
tionable safety of the public.
Should a hoisting rope break there
is a powerful clip which instantly
grips the track, and brings the car to a
standstill, the application being automatic.
This brake is so powerful that during
the builder's trials, when one of the
hoisting ropes was broken purposely, the
vehicle only slipped back six inches before
it came to a stop. Even if one of the track
cables broke no alarm need be entertained,
as the brake would come into operation
instantaneously, and after the car had been
stopped it could be restarted and driven
slowly into its station along the remaining
cable. This brake can be applied also by
the driver from within the car in case of
emergency, so that no matter what might
happen it is impossible for the car to get
out of control.

At the same time the stations are fitted
both with automatic and hand-operating
brakes to guard against various contin-
gencies, such as the failure of the electric
current, breakdown of the machinery, or
of the car, etc. Then there is an accumu-
lator battery, capable of running the rail-
way for several hours continuously should
the main supply give out. Even if this
broke down while the cars were on the
track, they can be wound in by hand,
either with the passengers within or after
an emergency car has been sent down the
track to take off the travellers.

Even suppose everything went wrong,
and that the cars were brought to a
6

dead standstill, impossible of recovery for
the time being, the passengers are not
confronted with the prospect
of dangling in mid-air for an An
indefinite period. The car ., g^it." °y
carries an emergency apparatus
in the form of a collapsible bag with
a rigid bottom. This is lowered through
a trap door in the floor, with the pas-
senger standing upright within. There is
no danger of a hurried descent to Mother
Earth, because the lowering of this appar-
atus is governed by a braking gear, so
that the ground is reached without any
perceptible jar.

The travelling speed upon the line is
restricted very rigorously by the authorities,
and expedients have had to

be introduced to keep within aowrmnent

Restrictions.

the prescribed limits. There

is a speed regulator which is set to the
authorised maximum. Directly the car
exceeds this point the automatic brake
comes into action and checks the speed.
Again, the authorities forbid the operation
of the railway during high winds. An
anemometer is mounted upon the roof of
the upper station, and this is connected
to a bell signal. Directly the wind exceeds
a certain velocity, to which the apparatus
is set, this bell warns the mechanic to
suspend the service. As a matter of fact
there is no danger of the highest winds
imperilling the safety of working, but the
regulations of the authorities must be
obeyed.

Travelling by this aerial railway is
marked by the complete absence of vibra-
tion and oscillation. The cars start without
any perceptible jolt and glide steadily and
smoothly up and down the mountain sides.
When approaching the station the speed is
slackened automatically, and the vehicle is
brought gently to rest. In addition to the
telephone and electric lighting circuit be-
tween the station for the transmission of
the audible and visual starting signals, as
well as other service communications, a

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

VIEW OF THE TRACK OF THE KOHLERER AERIAL
Showing the method of suspending the car from
carriage, and the two cables.

special telephone wire is provided for the
convenience of the driver of the car. He
is in continuous communication with both
stations during the journey, and can
notify the engineers at both ends the
moment any untoward incident develops.
Another aerial passenger railway, working
upon a third system, the Ceretti-Tanfani,
also has been completed in the Austrian
Tyrol, to connect Lana with the summit
of the Vigiljoch. While this system has
been in operation upon its broad lines for
the transportation of goods traffic in various
parts of Europe for many years past, this
is its first direct application to passenger
service. In this instance, also, the Austrian
Government proved most exacting in its

determination to protect the pub-
lic. After the line was completed
the government engineers sub-
jected it to innumerable tests of
all descriptions, submitting the
safety devices to the most rigorous
and searching trials before they
extended the requisite sanction to
carry passengers.

The line is divided into two
sections. The first rises 1,730
feet, while in the second section
the difference in level which is
overcome is 2,100 feet. Thus
there are three stations. The
lower terminus contains the
tension gear, comprising counter-
weights aggregating 20 tons, for
the lower line, while the upper-
most station contains the elec-
trical and other plant. The third
is a half-way or change-over house.
The counterbalancing system is
adopted on both sections of the
line, and the cars are suspended
pendulum-fashion from the over-
head trolley. The cable track
comprises one main steel cable-
way along which run two two-
wheeled trucks mounted in
tandem in a frame.

These wheels run along the top face of
the cable, but underneath are guard wheels
which prevent the trolley jumping the track,
so that derailment is absolutely impossible.
In addition to the hauling rope whereby
the car is drawn to and fro, there is a brake
rope on which the automatic brake of the
car acts. If the exigencies of traffic demand
that two cars shall travel one behind the
other, each has its separate hauling rope,
but the hauling rope of the leading car acts
as the brake rope of the second vehicle,
while the hauling rope of the following
vehicle acts as the brake rope of the first
car. Both these ropes are driven by drums
which are operated by a common motor
in the upper station, and should a braking

RAILWAY,
the track

AERIAL MOUNTAIN RAILWAYS

rope snap, the car or cars can be braked
by hand. This is an ingenious arrange-
ment, and it constitutes one of the out-
standing features of the Ceretti-Tanfani
patent, the value of. which has been em-
phasised in connection with the official
inspection of this railway.

It might be anticipated that, when the
automatic brake was applied suddenly by
the failure of the hauling rope, there might
be a tendency for the rear truck wheels to
kick, and thus jump the line, but this is
impossible owing to the guard wheels.
These are kept hard pressed against the
carrying rope by means of springs, and are
only forced apart as the car glides over the
line supports on the towers, the track
wheels passing over the upper face of the
shoe, while the guard wheels
pass beneath it. Directly
the car has passed the tower
the guard wheels are forced
against the track cable once
more.

Elaborate safety devices
of various descriptions to
bring the car to a stand-
still under all conditions of
accident to the line are in-
corporated, and it is virtually
impossible to precipitate an
accident to the vehicle and
its occupants. This aerial
railway is one of the longest
in existence for the carriage
of passengers ; no fewer than
39 lattice steel pyramid
towers, ranging from 21 to
100 feet in height, according
to the contour of the ground,
are required to support the
line. Some of the spans are
of considerable length, the
longest being about 720 feet.
Each tower has two arms
for supporting the track on
either side, and the carrying
cable, 2 1 inches in diameter,

made up of 238 stranded and spirally wound
wires, will sustain a pull of 235 tons before
breaking. The margin of safety consequently
is very ample. The hauling and braking
ropes are one half the thickness of the
track cable, and have a breaking strain of
58 tons.

The foregoing European installations may
be described as expressions de luxe in con-
nection with aerial methods of travelling
when compared with the " Sunrise Peak
Aerial Railway — The World's Grandest
Scenic Route," since in this instance the
passengers are accommodated in a large
bucket ! This line lacks all the finish of
its Alpine prototypes, but, on the other
hand, it introduces the traveller to most
gorgeous scenic attractions. It is about

THE STARTING STATION ON THE KOHLERER AERIAL
RAILWAY AT EISACK.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Ij miles in length, and lifts the sightseer
from Silver Plume, at 9,000 feet above sea
level, to the summit of Sunrise Peak,
3,500 feet higher.

" To the Clouds in a Bucket " is one of

the sensations of Colorado, and it must be

admitted that large numbers

"To the Of people avail themselves of
Clouds in ... .. . .

a Bucket " ™is opportunity to attain one

of the eyries of the Rocky
Mountains. The railway swings across
yawning canyons, and over bleak wind-
swept brown humps of the range, in its
ever-upward climb. The track comprises
a single cable, while propulsion is afforded
by the endless haulage cable, l£ inches in
diameter, which passes round a drum at
either terminal. The travelling truck is
fitted with two wheels each 4 inches in
diameter.

The track is carried on supports re-
sembling gallows in shape, made of timber
members measuring 8 inches square. There
are fifty of these towers distributed over
the road, the length of the spans varying
according to the mountain slope and the
lay of the country traversed. The motive
power is electricity, drawn from a gener-
ating station four miles away, and drives
two 35-horse-power motors, coupled to the
winding drums, in the upper station.

The cars are merely huge buckets, similar
to those employed for excavating purposes,
and they are slung from the overhead
travelling truck. There are 20 buckets
on the line, spaced about 485 feet apart.
The cars only make a brief stop at the
station, and the passengers, in true American
fashion, " have to get a move on " to make
sure of their seats. Each bucket is strongly
made of wrought iron, is 6 feet long by
4 feet wide, and has four seats. The car is
entered through a side door, which, when
the bucket is loaded, is shut and bolted
firmly on the inside. There is no pro-
tection from the weather, and should rain

be encountered at a higher altitude as
though threatening a second deluge, or the
sun pour down as if bent upon grilling,
the inmates have to suffer in silence unless
they have brought suitable conveniences
with them.

Although there is a conspicuous lack of
comfort or luxury upon this line, it has
the compensating advantage of

giving the traveller a free, open, An

f . . . . Altitude of

inspiring view of gulch, peak, I2 500 feet

snow, cloud, and torrent from
an altitude of 12,500 feet. There are five
intermediate stations, built around the
upper parts of the cable-supporting towers,
each complete with its attendant, and the
line is equipped with electric signals and
telephones. Should any untoward mishap
occur during the journey, the station-
master can telephone to the engineer to
stop the line, and communicate the nature
of the accident.

This line demanded some three years in
its construction, and although undeniably
primitive, it involved an outlay of £14,000.
It has proved a unique success, the touring
public evidently tolerating imprisonment
within a confined space for half-an-hour
each way with the utmost good humour.
"It is easier than climbing, anyway,"
comment the patrons of this railway, " and
a darn sight quicker ! "

The success of the aerial railway is so
marked that a new era in railway moun-
taineering has dawned. There is no doubt
but that in the future this method of scaling
lofty peaks for the benefit of the tourist
will undergo considerable development, and
will be preferred generally to the cog-
wheel and incline railways which have had
such an extensive vogue. Certainly it will
offer a means of carrying passengers to the
crests of towering mountains which other-
wise would be inaccessible by any other
railway system, since no mountain flank
is too precipitous for this type of line.

THE "BIG BULL-MOOSER " OF THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILROAD. U.S.A.

This Baldwin-Mallet compound locomotive (2-8-0, 0-8-0) is used for the heavier class of traffic—
passengers and goods — among the mountains. Total weight, with tender, 300 tons.

Locomotive Giants— I

SHOWING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HUGE AMERICAN LOCOMOTIVES

NE of the most remarkable
features of railway operation
during recent years has been
the development of the mam-
moth locomotive. The era
may be said to have com-
menced in France, but it is the
Americans who have brought this move-
ment to its highest pitch of perfection.

The issue was forced upon the United
States and Canadian railways. The
necessity to haul immense loads, such as
coal, ores, grain, etc., over long distances
without breaking bulk, often struggling
against heavy grades, presented peculiar
difficulties. The eight, ten, or twelve-ton
wagon common to the British railways
became absolutely useless, because there-
with, owing to the immense volume of the
traffic to be handled, the lines would have
become choked throughout the twenty-four
hours with unwieldy long trains. During
the year the United States railways have
to handle over 1,500,000,000 tons of goods,

which is about one-sixth more than that
moved on the combined railways of the
United Kingdom, Germany, France, and
Russia in the same period.

Under such circumstances the futility
of the small wagon may be appreciated.
But there was another factor which in-
fluenced the situation very vitally. With
the small wagon the proportion of " live "
or paying tonnage in a train is small in
comparison with the " dead " or non-
paying train tonnage, while more train-
miles have to be run in order to cope with
the transportation of a certain volume of
traffic. The point was to reduce both the
number of train-miles and the proportion
of the dead load. This could be accom-
plished only by introducing larger vehicles.
Accordingly there came the 30-ton wagon,
which enabled the train to be shortened
very appreciably.

Once this development started it went
ahead rapidly. The vehicles were increased
in capacity, until to-day there are cars on

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

the American and Canadian lines capable
of carrying 75 tons.* This means that
when 5,000 tons of coal, ore, grain, or
what not have to be moved a matter of ten
or fifteen hundred miles, a single American
train of 40 vehicles will handle what would
require 300 British 10-ton trucks. The
operating expenses thus are decreased, as
well as the train-miles, while the income
per train is increased.

But the augmentation of the load per

train precipitated another problem. The

hauling power of a locomotive

The became overtaxed, so that it

Locomotive ....

Problem. was necessary to utilise two

engines to a train ; while for
the negotiation of long steep banks through
the mountains additional power had to be
taken on, to push and haul the load over
the hump, or else the train had to be divided
and run in sections over the obstacle.

The locomotive engineers were urged to
evolve larger and more powerful engines
to dispense with " double-heading " and
division of trains. This problem was not
easy to solve, owing to the designer being
cramped by the comparative narrowness
of the standard gauge. The engineer in-
creased the length and diameter of his
boiler until he was unable to go another
inch in either direction. Even then he
encountered harassing difficulties in connec-
tion with his fire-box and the complete
combustion of his fuel. Additional driving
wheels were introduced to secure the
maximum adhesion and tractive effort,
and remarkable ingenuity was displayed
in order to secure efficient steaming
qualities.

In this search for greater locomotive
power many striking and interesting types
of engines were evolved, some of which are
foreign to British working. Among these
were such huge creations as the " Con-
solidation," the " Mastodon," and the
" Mikado," with eight large drivers, the

* The American ton of 2,000 pounds, and gallon
equivalent to '8 Imperial pints are used in the refer-
ences to U.S.A. locomotives.

distinction between the types being attri-
butable to the arrangement and number
of the leading, trailing and driving wheels.

Here it may be as well to describe how
locomotive types are classified. The collo-
quial descriptions such as " At-

lantic," "Pacific," "Baltic," Classifica-
- , „ i • i , • 11 i tion of

Consolidation, and so on are Locomotives.

somewhat confusing, inasmuch
as they convey no idea of the arrangement
and number of the wheels. So the Whyte
numerical system has come into general
vogue as conveying the wheel disposition
most satisfactorily. In this classification
the wheels are divided into three groups,
viz. — leading, bogie, or pony truck ;
drivers ; and trailers. Thus an engine
set out as of the 4-4-2 class indicates
that there is a four-wheeled pony truck,
followed by four drivers, and two trailing
wheels, forming the familiar " Atlantic "
type. If there are no leading or trailing
wheels, or if one or the other be omitted,
the absence is indicated by a cipher.
Thus the numerical classification of a
" Consolidation " locomotive is 2-8-0, signi-
fying a two-wheeled bogie, eight drivers,
and no trailing wheels ; the " Mastodon "
4-8-0, with a four-wheeled bogie, eight
drivers, and no trailing wheels ; the
" Mikado " as 2-8-2, representing a two-
wheeled pony truck, eight drivers, and
two-wheeled trailer. In view of the manner
in which the locomotive engineers " have
rung the changes " on the arrangement
of the wheels, the Whyte numerical classi-
fication offers the simplest and most
comprehensive method of nomenclature.

It was conceded generally that the ten
driving wheel locomotive represented the
limitations of design with a rigid

wheel base. While engineers Mallet's

, . ... . Articulated

were racking their brains as to

how to obtain greater power
there appeared an invention which changed
completely the whole problem of locomotive
design. This was the articulated engine,
as evolved by M. Anatole Mallet, of Paris.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Its appearance on the French rail-
ways created a sensation. Amer-
ican engineers, realising its advan-
tages, and the fact that therewith
it was possible to obtain that
increase in power which was de-
manded so urgently, embraced the
idea forthwith.

The outstanding feature of the
Mallet locomotive is the division
of the frame into two parts, which
are connected together by a hinged
joint. Each section of the frame
carries a set of driving wheels and
a pair of cylinders. In this way
it is possible to obtain an engine
having as many as twenty driving
wheels — in two groups of ten each
— and no more resistance is en-
countered in rounding curves than
with an Atlantic engine. Com-
pound working is adopted, the
high pressure cylinders driving the
inner, while the lower pressure
cylinders drive the foremost group
of wheels.

These monster engines for the
most part are utilised for three
distinct services — express ; pusher,
to assist trains over steep grades ;
and the haulage of long, heavy
freight trains. They are giants in
the fullest sense of the word. For
instance, the Great Northern " Big
Bull Moosers" used on the Rocky
and Cascade mountain divisions
turn the scale, engine and tender
complete ready for the road, at
300 tons, while the wheel base is
83 feet 1 inch. The high pressure
cylinders have a diameter of 28
inches, while the low pressure
cylinders are 42 inches diameter,
the stroke being 32 inches. The
Belpaire conical boiler has a dia-
meter of 90 inches ; the fire-box
a length of 117£ inches by 96|
inches wide, and 87 J inches deep

LOCOMOTIVE GIANTS

in front and 76J inches at the back. There
are 332 tubes, each 24 feet in length, 2j
and 5| inches in diameter. The fire-box
has a heating surface of 245 square feet ;
the combustion chamber 81 square feet ;
tubes 6,120 square feet ; giving a total
heating surface of 6,446 square feet. The
grate area is 78-4 square feet. The driving
wheels are 63 inches, and the truck wheels
33| inches in diameter respectively. The
driving wheel base is 43 1 feet in length,
with 16J feet for the rigid base, bringing
the wheel base of the total engine to
52| feet. The weight on the drivers is
210 tons, and on the front truck 15 tons.
The tender, mounted on eight wheels,
each of 36 inches diameter, carries 8,000
gallons of water and 13 tons of soft coal
which is used as fuel. The engine is also
fitted with an Emerson superheater, having
a surface of 1,368 square feet. The working
pressure of the steam is 210 pounds per
square inch. It exerts a tractive force of
100,000 pounds.

This articulated Mallet engine, built by
the Baldwin Locomotive Works at Phila-
delphia, has proved highly successful in
the heaviest class of mountain service.

The Pennsylvania Company also have
designed a very powerful locomotive, clas-
sified by the company as the
The H-8-b type, for its heaviest

£o7pYn™la frdght Service" This enginc
(iiant. has four pairs of 62-inch

driving wheels, with a two-
wheeled pony truck, 2-8-0 class. The
total length of the driving-wheel base of
the engine is 17 feet 0| inch, of the
engine 25 feet 9£ inches, and of the
engine and tender 59 feet 5| inches. The
cylinders have a diameter of 24 inches with
a stroke of 28 inches. The Belpaire wide
fire-box is used, being 110£ inches long by a
width of 72 inches, the total heating surface
being 187 square feet. The boiler has a
minimum internal diameter of 76| inches ;
there are 465 tubes of 2 inches outside
diameter, the total heating surface of the
7

tubes being 3,652 square feet. Steam is
used at a pressure of 205 pounds per
square inch. The weight of the engine in
working order is 119-15 tons, of which
105-5 are upon the driving wheels. In
working order the 8-wheel tender weighs
79 tons, the complete weight of the loco-
motive therefore being 198-15 tons.

An interesting experiment was carried
out with this engine in order to ascertain
the precise freight - carrying

possibilities of the 127 miles A Train

.,. , „ , 4,888 feet

between Altoona and Enola in

Yard, opposite Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania. This section of the system
has been overhauled and reconstructed so
as to secure no heavier rise than 12 feet
per mile.

Engine No. 1221 of the H-8-b type
was attached to a train of 120 steel
gondola cars laden with coal. Each
wagon carried 52 £ tons of mineral, so
that the total consignment represented
6,300 tons. The complete weight of the
train, including engine, cars, and brake-
van, or caboose, was no less than 8,850
tons. From end to end this train
measured 4,888 feet — more than nine-
tenths of a mile.

Despite the huge load the one engine,
having a tractive power of 42,661 pounds,
hauled the train over the dis-

tance of 127 miles unaided, Telephone

,. , ... from Driver

occupying 9 hours 36 minutes to Quar(j.

on the journey, giving an
average speed of 13 miles an hour. As,
however, this time included delays aggre-
gating some three hours, the actual run-
ning speed averaged 19 miles an hour.
In making the trip the engine consumed
over 13 tons of coal.

A unique feature of the train was a
telephone connection between the brakes-
man in the rear van and the driver of the
locomotive, the wires being carried along
the sides of the vehicles.

While the Pennsylvania Railway Com-
pany has no intention of operating such

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

A Huge
"Mikado."

trains regularly, yet from time to time
it embarks upon such tests to determine
the capacity of its freight locomotives
over the improved lines, where grades have
been removed and curves compensated.

Recently some very powerful " Mikados,"
among the largest and most powerful of
the 2-8-2 type, have been
constructed. The Baldwin
Locomotive Works have sup-
plied some of the largest of this class yet
built for the Chicago, Rock Island, and
Pacific Railway, for service upon its system
where no excessively steep grades are en-
countered. The characteristic feature of
this design is the boiler, which is constructed
with a wide and deep fire-box, 84 inches
wide by 90 inches deep at back, and 77
inches deep at the front. The grate is
placed behind the driving wheels and above
the trailers, thus obtaining a large amount
of grate area and furnace volume. The
boiler is 86 inches in diameter, the tubes
21 feet long, having a total heating surface
of 4,004 square feet. The driving wheels
are 63 inches in diameter. The engine has
a length of 35 feet 2 inches, the over-all
length of the locomotive being 67 feet
2 1 inches. The weight imposed on the
drivers is 121-6 tons, while the total
weight of the engine and 8-wheel tender,
the latter loaded with 16 tons of soft coal
and 9,000 gallons of water, is 240 tons.

Another well-known system, the Dela-
ware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad,
has also introduced fifteen Mikados of
much greater sustained capacity than those
hitherto used in its service. They have
been constructed by the American Loco-
motive Company, and are being employed
in the slow and fast goods service between
Elmira and Buffalo.

The boiler, 86£ inches in diameter, has
a total heating surface of 4,592-8 square
feet, and works at a pressure
of 180 pounds per square
inch. The fire-box is 108 feet
long by 74J inches wide. The cylinders

Weight,
•*35'85 tons.

are of 28 inches diameter and 30 inches
stroke. The grate area is 63-1 square feet,
and the total heating surface 4,854-1 square
feet with 1,085 square feet of superheater.
The drivers, 63 inches in diameter, carry
a weight of 118-75 tons, the total weight of
the engine in working order being 156 tons.
The 8-wheel tender, loaded with 14 tons
of soft coal and 8,000 gallons of water,
weighs 79-85 tons, bringing the complete
weight of the locomotive to 235-85
tons.

These engines, with a maximum trac-
tive power of 57,000 pounds, are super-
seding Consolidation locomotives, having
cylinders of 26 inches diameter by 30
inches stroke, and a theoretical maximum
tractive power of 51,400 pounds, in the
slow freight traffic, while in the express
goods service they are replacing Mogul —
2—6-0 class — with cylinders 20| inches
diameter and 26 inches stroke, and a
maximum tractive power of 29,480
pounds. Although these Mikados have
the same cylinder stroke as the superseded
Consolidation engines, they have drivers of
63 inches instead of 57 inches. So far as
the Moguls are concerned, these Mikados
have almost 100 per cent. greater
capacity.

Among the most impressive, and largest,
as well as the most powerful engines yet
constructed, the Mallet com-
pounds built by the Atchison, JJ^ " 3°°° "
Topeka, and Santa Fe Rail-
way, forming what are known as the " 3000 "
class in the railway's service, stand pre-
eminent. The engine alone weighs 308 tons,
of which 275 tons are distributed over the
twenty driving wheels, the articulated classi-
fication being 2-10-O, 0-10-2. The tender
weighs 117 tons, bringing the total weight
of the locomotive in running order up to
425 tons. Its length over all is 120 feet
ri\ inches.

The high and low pressure cylinders
respectively are of 28 and 38 inches
diameter, with a common stroke of 32

LOCOMOTIVE GIANTS

inches. The fire-box, 149f inches long
by 78 inches wide and 76 inches
deep, has 294-5 square feet of heating
surface. The 377 fire tubes have a
heating surface of 3,625 square feet, while
the superheater has a surface of 2,318-4
square feet. There is also the re-heater,
and finally the feed-water heater, the
tubes of which have a heating surface
of 2,659-4 square feet. The introduction
of the superheater, re-heater and feed-water
heater represents the latest development
in locomotive engineering, the functions of
which are described later.

The driving wheels have a diameter of
57 inches, while that of the truck wheels is
34^ inches. The tender is carried on twelve
wheels, and has capacity for 12,000 gallons
of water and 4,000 gallons of oil, liquid
fuel being used, while the working pressure
of the steam is 225 pounds per square
inch.

This huge locomotive has a maximum
drawbar pull of 111,600 pounds, and in an
experimental run to ascertain its hauling
capacity one of its class drew a train of
100 loaded freight cars, representing a live
weight of 4,341 tons, from Emporia to
Argentine, a distance of 111-5 miles, where
the maximum grade is 21 feet per mile,
in 6 hours 20 minutes. It has hauled a
load of 1,911 tons at a speed of 12 miles
per hour over a grade rising 79'2 feet per
mile. At a speed of 10 miles per hour the
engine develops some 3,000 horse power.
At present these engines are being utilised
for the most part in territory served by
the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail-
way, where the ruling grade is 90 feet per
mile, the train-loads upon this division
averaging 1,900 tons, and the speed ranging
between 12 and 15 miles per hour. Other
locomotives of this class are reserved for
pusher service, to assist the regular trains
over Cajon Mountain in California, where
the grade runs as high as 180 feet per
mile. These Santa Fe giants have aroused
world-wide interest.

A TEST LOAD FOR ONE OF THE " 300(
The run was from Emporia to Argentine, 111-5 miles, with a load of 100 cars, which extended o\

*• r

THE GIGANTIC MALLET COMPOUND BUILT FOR TH1
The engine weighs 308 tons, and the tender 117 tons, a tots

LASS LOCOMOTIVES SHOWN BELOW.

000 feet, and represented 4,341 tons weight. The journey was accomplished in 6 hours 20 minutes.

LTCHISON, TOPEKA AND SANTA FE RAILWAY,
f 425 tons. Its length over all is 120 feet 7J inches.

THE DOUBLE-LIFT .BRIDGE AT PORTLAND OREGON.
End view of bridge showing flared ends to the railway and the approach to the upper level.

A Telescopic Double-Lift Bridge

AN INGENIOUS ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT TO COPE WITH RAILWAY, SHIPPING

AND VEHICULAR TRAFFIC

NE of the most perplexing situ-
ations in railway building is
the necessity to cross a busy
waterway at a low level, owing
to the physical characteristics
of the banks on either side.
In order that no serious re-
striction may be imposed upon navigation,
it is imperative that the bridge shall be
provided with some means of opening
so as to permit vessels to pass up and
down easily. When this handicap is asso-
ciated with a busy city, spreading over
the opposite banks, the problem becomes
aggravated, as the engineer is cramped for
space in which to achieve his object.

Many ingenious methods have been
elaborated to meet such conditions. There
is the swing bridge, in which a span of the
bridge is able to swing round in a semi-
circle upon a pivotal pier, thereby providing
two channels — one on either side of the
support. Another expedient, which has
come into vogue extensively during recent
years, is the bascule bridge, in which the
moving section of the structure, being
hinged at one end, is raised and lowered
like a drawbridge. A third method, which,
however, is not employed very freely, is
the vertical lift bridge, wherein the span
is raised bodily in conjunction with counter-
weights, between two supporting towers,

A TELESCOPIC DOUBLE-LIFT BRIDGE

this system being similar in its principle
and operation to the sash-line window.

Recently a new and ingenious develop-
ment in connection with the last named
method has been introduced.
The It is the patent of two

ofethlrementS American engineers, Waddell
Service. and Harrington, and it

possesses many interesting
features. The Oregon- Washington Rail-
road and Navigation Company desired a
new entrance into the city of Portland,
Oregon. The Willamette, which divides
the city in twain, is a broad, deep river,
enabling large vessels to reach this point
from the sea.

When the railway first entered the city
it built a large steel bridge with a swing
span, which it was concluded would meet
all the requirements of navigation and
yet at the same time would not hinder
railway operations. But the trade of the
port has increased amazingly during recent
years, with the result that the swing span
was constantly having to be opened and
closed. On the yearly average this occurred
70 times a day — practically once every
20 minutes — while in one interval of 24
hours it has been opened as many as 134
times.

Such frequent manipulations handicapped

the railway traffic very seriously, so the

company decided to build a

Swing new bridge across the waterway,

Inadequate ^®® ^ee^ &bove the original
swing bridge. This decision
was seized as an opportunity to improve
the vehicular and pedestrian traffic between
the two banks, so a double deck bridge was
adopted, the lower deck being for the rail-
way, and the upper level for public use.
But the question of protecting the naviga-
tion interests arose. The various methods
of operating a moving span economically
and expeditiously were investigated at
length. In this case the problem was
complicated by the top deck used by the
public, which it was essential should be

kept open as much as possible so that
inconvenience to vehicular and pedestrian
intercommunication might be reduced to
the minimum. Obviously, both the swing
and bascule systems had to be ruled out
of court, because it was impossible to place
the upper deck at such a level as to be
beyond interruption at intervals. It was
a peculiar problem which demanded a
special solution. The railway engineers
thereupon investigated the Waddell and
Harrington invention, and finding that it
met the situation very completely, it was
adopted forthwith.

The river channel is crossed by three
spans — a fixed span 287 feet in length on
either side, flared at the shore
ends to provide for the neces- A Double-
sary curvature of the railway

lines, and a centre movable span
220 feet long. The public deck of the
bridge being nearly 50 feet above the level
of the railway, suitable approaches at the
ends had to be provided to secure an easy
grade. That at the east end is by means
of a viaduct 305 feet in length ; on the
west bank there is a highway approach
512 feet long. Thus the over-all length of
the structure is 794 feet for the railway,
and 1,611 feet for the public use.

The moving span, which rises vertically
between two towers by means of counter-
weights, is telescopic. That is
to say, the moving span is so
built that the lower deck may
be raised independently of the
upper deck. This is a distinct advantage,
inasmuch as this vertical travel amounts
to 46 feet. Accordingly, when the railway
deck is raised until it touches the floor of
the upper deck, a clearance of 72 feet
above low water is secured. This is
sufficient headroom for the greater pro-
portion of the river traffic, so that there is
no necessity to disturb the public high-
way. When, however, a large vessel with
tall masts approaches, demanding a greater
clearance, the bottom deck first is tele-

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

THE BRIDGE OPEN FOR VEHICULAR. PEDESTRIAN. AND TRAIN SERVICE.
The trains run over the lower deck.

scoped, and then, together with the higher
level of the span, is lifted until the whole
moving part comes to rest near the top
of the towers, whereby a clearance of 165
feet at low water is given. By this pro-
vision all but the very largest craft coming
to Portland are able to proceed through
the bridge.

The independent movement of the bottom
deck is accomplished by supporting the
railway floor system and lateral truss on
hanger posts from the upper movable span.
Each hanger is connected to four cables,
and is designed to move vertically inside
the corresponding vertical post of the
upper movable span. Both railway and
public decks are counterbalanced with
concrete weights. The lower moving sec-
tion has eight of these counterweights, dis-
posed four on each side, each section of
four having an aggregate weight of 212
tons. The upper deck has two similar
weights, each weighing 866 tons.

The river piers were sunk by the open

caisson method. These were landed on
cement gravel at a depth of 123 feet below
low water. The six dredging wells were
excavated to a depth of 10 feet below the
cutting edge of the caisson, and the concrete
was deposited under water by means of
bottom dump buckets. In the completion
of the sub-structure work some 30,000
cubic yards of concrete were used.

The steel viaduct carrying the highway
approach on either side1 was erected by
means of a 30-ton skid derrick, having a
boom 45 feet in length. This plant also
set the upper floor system and laterals for
the fixed spans, as well as the lower mem-
bers of the two towers, the heaviest single
piece which it was called upon to handle
weighing 29 tons, represented by a beam
for the upper deck. The two fixed spans
were erected by the aid of timber falsework,
which was built upon the double bent
system with 22 piles. For the raising and
placing of the truss members and the lower
floor a barge, or scow, derrick was devised.

A TELESCOPIC DOUBLE-LIFT BRIDGE

This had sheer legs 110 feet in length,
fashioned from four heavy piles. By means
of this apparatus a chord section weighing
as much as 54 tons was set in position.

The building of the vertical lift span, and
the movable railway deck, had to be carried
out in such a manner that no interference
was offered to the river traffic, and also
in such a way as to be as independent
as possible of the level of the water
in the river. A clearance of 116 feet
above low water was considered to be
sufficient for the purpose. Four wooden
cantilever brackets were put together on
barges, and by means of the floating sheer-
leg derrick were hoisted in position on
the adjacent ends of the fixed spans.
The bases of these brackets rested on the
piers, while the tops were anchored to the
fixed spans by means of iron rods 2| inches
in diameter, four rods being used for each
bracket. The two skid derricks then were
rigged with booms 110 feet in length, and

by their aid four Howe trusses, measuring
120 feet long, and weighing 40 tons each,
were lifted and set upon the timber brackets.
The iron required for this falsework was
fashioned from the scrap of old spans
removed from the railway company's line
several years previously.

In the erection of the two towers carrying
the counterweights, as well as the sheaves,
a gallows -frame, 152 feet in height, was
built and lifted into position on top of the
Howe truss falsework. This was anchored
back to the truss and hinged at the base,
so as to obtain sufficient rotation to set any
members of the towers into the requisite
position. The heaviest lift which this
gallows-frame effected was the section of a
tower post weighing 42 tons. The steel
used in the erection of the towers was loaded
on to cars which were run out to the site
over the railway deck. They were hoisted
through a hole in the upper deck, this having
been obtained by leaving out the stringers

THE BRIDGE OPEN FOR VEHICULAR AND PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC ONLY.
The lower deck raised so as to telescope within the upper span.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

of two panels of the latter, sufficient clear-
ance thus being provided to permit the
passage of the largest sections of steel.

The members of the lift span were handled
by a traveller 96 feet in height. A con-

sufficient play for the stretch of the ropes,
and to provide requisite ease in connecting
the cables, was ensured. After the con-
crete had set, and directly the lift-span was
completed, the sand was permitted to run

struction tramway was laid on the upper out of the boxes, so that the weights gradu-

THE BRIDGE OPEN FOR SHIPPING.

The lower span is telescoped and the whole lifted so as to give a clearance of 165 feet on the
navigable channel. The descending counterweights close the thoroughfare on the public level

of the bridge.

deck of the east span and viaduct, over
which a " creeper " car travelled. The
steel was brought up on cars to the viaduct,
and a derrick hoisted the sections therefrom
on to the creeper car, which was then run
out to the erecting point.

While the lift span was being built the
casting of the concrete counterweights pro-
ceeded. These were prepared in their ulti-
mate positions within the towers. The forms
whereby these weights were moulded rested
on boxes containing a layer of sand 18 inches
in depth, and the moulds were placed
18 inches above the position they were to
occupy ultimately. By this arrangement

ally descended to their requisite level and
took up the ropes, thereby swinging, or
taking up the weight of the lift span, so as
to enable the falsework to be demolished.

The lower or railway deck of the movable
spaix was erected in sections on barges, a
floor beam and two hangers first being
riveted up, and then raised into position.
The concrete counterweights for this deck
were cast separately for each panel joint,
and they were previously cast and sup-
ported on falsework on the upper deck. So
soon as a panel joint was in place it was
connected to its cables and supported by
the counterweight. All the hanger posts,

A TELESCOPIC DOUBLE-LIFT BRIDGE

with the floor beams, were set first, the
stringers and lower lateral truss being filled
in subsequently.

By these ingenious arrangements the con-
struction of the most difficult section of the
bridge — the moving span — was completed
without any material interference to navi-
gation. All river traffic was able to pass
to and fro without the slightest hindrance.
The methods adopted furthermore secured
rapid construction.

The machinery house for the operation
of the moving sections is placed centrally
on the deck above the highway level of
the bridge. The mechanism is operated
electrically. A large gauge is provided on
either side of the bridge extending from the
top of the piers to the point corresponding
with the level of the telescoping railway
deck, so that the navigator can determine
the clearance available both when the lower
deck and when the two spans are raised to
the full limit of their respective travels.
When the public level is lifted, the
two descending counterweights block the
thoroughfare on either side of the opening.

The total weight of the bridge is 8, 585' 8
tons, divided up as follows : —

West highway approach . 687 tons

East highway approach . 398'8 „

Four 80-feet deck railway

girders .... 103 „

East riveted span . . 2,230 tons
West riveted span . . 1,948 „
Lift span with lifting deck . 1,594 „
Towers .... 799 „
Tramway poles, balustrade,

gas and water mains, etc. . 342 „
Machinery and motors. . 484 „
while its total cost was £383,000.

The bridge was completed for railway
traffic on July 23rd, 1912, while the public
highway was finished a fortnight later.
Since it was opened, the chief engineer of
the railway informs me that the bridge has
been working with perfect and entire satis-
faction. The time occupied in raising both
decks to the maximum clearance above
low water — 165 feet — is If minutes, while
lowering requires a similar interval. The
result is, that when a sea-going ship with
high masts desires to pass through the
bridge, the public traffic on the upper deck
is interrupted for five minutes. As the
bulk of the navigation, however, demands
only the moving of the lower or railway
deck, the interference offered to vehicular
and pedestrian traffic is so slight as to be
insignificant. The unique success of this
installation doubtless will lead to the wider
adoption of the idea where similar condi-
tions prevail, and where it is often essential
to utilise a bridge both for public and
railway services.

LEVELLING AND BALLASTING THE LINE.
The work was done entirely by negro laboui

The Railway Invasion of the Gold

Coast

HOW THE SEKONDI-COOMASSIE RAILWAY WAS DRIVEN THROUGH THE

PRIMEVAL FORESTS

HILE every great railway pos-
sesses its individual romance,
yet, tucked away here and
there, in odd corners of the
globe, are short isolated lengths
of the steel highway which
claim more than ordinary
attention. Among these are the railways
of West Africa, and in particular that of
the Gold Coast, which possesses a romantic
glamour which is peculiarly its own.

The popular conception of this section
of the African continent is somewhat hazy.

Generally it is dismissed as " The White
Man's Grave," comprising vast tracts of
dense, impenetrable, fever-laden jungle,
concealing lagoons and swamps, where
death lurks unseen in a hundred different
forms. This impression, however, is quite
wrong. The country certainly has a cli-
mate which is far from kind to the white
man at present, in the same manner as
the frost-bound wilderness of Canada was
a certain death-trap until the pioneers
opened it up to let in the sunlight. As
West Africa becomes settled and deve-

THE RAILWAY INVASION OF THE GOLD COAST 61

loped, the insalubrious conditions will
disappear ; the country will be rendered
as tenantable and as attractive as the
southern extremity of the continent.

The idea of criss-crossing these vast
expanses of virgin territory by the railway
was suggested first by Mr. (afterwards Sir)
William Shelf ord, M.Inst.C.E. "Railways
were the obsession of this accomplished engi-
neer, and he concentrated his activities
and skill upon West Africa. In the early
nineties of the last century he attacked

shore of the Gold Coast is hemmed in by a
thick belt of jungle, 150 miles or more in
width. To venture into this huge, un-
trodden forest demanded no small amount
of pluck and determination. The exotic
vegetation presented a solid barrier, through
which advance could be made only by
hacking and cutting, since the jungle was
intersected by very few, narrow, and tor-
tuous paths, trodden down by the feet
of the natives.

The railway conquest of West Africa was

r ->>%''-••

Li- ' t _.<f

BUILDING UP THE GRADE TO TRACK LEVEL.

the problem vigorously, because he fore-
saw that, once this untouched region was
given a fair start, settlement and develop-
ment must go ahead with a rush.

At that time West Africa was a verit-
able " Tom Tiddler's Ground,'" awaiting
the coming of the capitalist and toiler.
But the machinery of development could
not be set in motion until facilities were
offered for access to the interior. The

inaugurated with the dispatch of a survey
party to Sierra Leone in 1893 by Mr.
Shelford, the Colonial Office having decided
to open up the hinterland. Actual con-
structional work was commenced in 1896.
Step by step the railway, of 2 feet 6 inch
gauge, was driven forward from Freetown
xmtil it had reached Pendembu, 230 miles
up country, and a short distance from the
Liberian frontier.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The first attempt to survey the unknown
interior for the ribbon of steel proved
disastrous. Three Englishmen
A Malaria- started out to make the recon-
District naissancc. The party com-
prised a surveyor, his assistant,
and a doctor. The latter was indispensable,
owing to the country's evil reputation.
Disease was more to be dreaded than any
form of hostility or accident. The sur-
face of the ground is carpeted with a thick
layer of decaying vegetation — the putre-
faction of centuries — and the rainfall, which
is severe, has converted this bed of leaves,
branches, and dead-fall into a spongy,
soddened mass, freely interspersed with
pools and swamps, where the mosquito
and other pests multiply by the million.
Accordingly, malaria is rife ; in fact, at
that time it held the country more securely
against a white invasion than the most
cunning and determined tactics of the
unfriendly natives.

The trio had not gone far before the

formidable character of their undertaking

was revealed very vividly. The

An swarming implacable insects

Unfortunate , ., . „ . , .,

Expedition, counted their first victory : the

doctor was bowled over by
malaria. This was the sorriest trick that
fortune could have played, and it was
decidedly unnerving. Then the assistant
fell a victim to the malady, and before the
gravity of the situation was grasped he
had crossed " The Divide." It is not
surprising that the surveyor himself, who
had cheated misfortune, was dismayed by
this calamity. His first care was the
interment of his dead chum. He gave him
as Christian a burial as the limited cir-
cumstances of the bush permitted. The
provisions were tumbled out of the thin
wooden boxes in which they had been
packed for transport, and from these few
sticks a crude coffin was contrived, in
which the body was committed to a
hastily-dug grave. As the doctor was
recovering slowly, the surveyor packed his

traps and made a laboured, painful return
to the capital, where, after the grim story
was related, arrangements for another
dash through the inhospitable interior
were prepared.

It was the discovery of gold which
prompted the construction of the first rail-
way on the Gold Coast. Intrepid
prospectors braved the pesti- Gold as
lential forests and diligently |ncentjve.
panned the up-country streams.
They discovered traces of colour, and,
following up the clues, at last struck the
main reef of yellow metal at Tarkwa, some
40 miles from the seaboard. The news of
the discovery precipitated the inevitable
rush, as well as an inflow of capital, but
it was no easy matter to gain the alluring
gold belt. There were no facilities for
transporting the essential heavy and cum-
bersome machinery to the claims, while
the conveyance of the yellow fruits of ex-
hausting labour to the coast was just as
laborious. Incoming vessels had to dis-
charge into small boats which ran the
gauntlet of the heavy surf and dodged
the sand-bars which littered the waterway
leading to the interior. They crept up
the river with considerable difficulty to a
point as near the mining area as possible
and there unloaded. The material then
had to be tugged, pushed, and carried over
rude tracks through the jungle to the
mines. By the time the mines were reached
transport charges had run away with £40
per ton.

No industrial concern could work under
such conditions and show a profit. Accord-
ingly it was decided to drive a railway
from a convenient point on the coast to
Tarkwa. After scouring the shore line of
the Gold Coast from end to end, it was
decided to create a terminal port at what
was virtually an unknown spot, which then
was little more than a native village —
Sekondi. It is not a harbour, but merely
a small, open bay ; but it was the only
choice between two evils. Possibly, some

A TEMPORARY BRIDGE OVER THE SUYAM RIVER.
This view shows the nature of the country through which the railroad runs.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

day, when the colony attains a position of
greater prosperity, and in view of the fact
that Sekondi occupies a strategical posi-
tion in relation to the developed interior,
harbour works will be taken in hand, to
remedy the deficiencies of Nature for the
safety and convenience of shipping.

Having secured a foothold on the coast,
the railway builders undertook to drive

clear view 100 feet ahead can be obtained
is despairing toil. The country was found
to be gently undulating, but the majority
of the depressions were filled with swamp
or stagnant, fetid pools, concealed frona
sight by the overgrowing scrub, so thJt
a sudden immersion to the thighs or wain
was by no means uncommon ; while sue!
unseemly disturbance of a silent lagoon

BUILDING THE ANCOBRA BRIDGE.
The most important on the line. The central span is of 180 feet.

their line forward from that point. The
first section comprised some 40 miles, but
it was as hard a 40-mile stretch as any
engineer could wish to tackle. There was
the densely-matted jungle, a fearful cli-
mate, a fiendish rainfall, and a compara-
tive absence of gravel with which to carry
out the earthworks. Englishmen, of course,
were in demand to superintend operations ;
but it proved to be no white man's land
in those early days. The deadly climate
mowed them down like flies, while some of
stronger physique, although they outwitted
the " old man with the scythe," went
raving mad.

Yet the surveyors had painted the
picture of what was to come very con-
vincingly. Events proved they did not
exaggerate the conditions one whit. They
themselves had had many a stiff struggle
to advance. Driving survey lines through
a gloomy forest which is so dense and
overgrown with brush that it is seldom a

was sufficient to provoke dense swarms of
mosquitoes to spirited attack.

In such country as this the man with the
transit and level must be gifted with what
the American terms aptly " a nose for a
railway," meaning an instinct, cultivated
by prolonged and difficult experience, to
obtain the best route in the shortest time
and with the minimum of expense. When
the outlook is shut in on all sides by dense
vegetation, it is a toss-up whether the
line already plotted is really so good as
one which might be found a few miles to
one side or the other. Still, each of half
a dozen different routes is certain to pos-
sess superior features here and there. The
problem is the selection of the line which
offers the greatest number of advantages
and the minimum of defects. No matter
how completely the engineer may achieve
his task, the sum of his efforts is certain
to meet with criticism, as a result of sub-
sequently acquired knowledge.

THE RAILWAY INVASION OF THE GOLD COAST 65

Surveying in tropical climes is attended
ith another factor which is not cncount-
•ed in more temperate regions. The
ccidcd route or " location " is indicated
y a row of pegs, spaced 100 feet apart —
ic length of a chain — down the centre of

encountered occasionally in searching for
the location pegs by the constructional
armies. When a nude stick planted by
the surveyor has grown into a fully-fledged
tree by the time the railway builder arrives,
identification is by no means easy. Accord-

MONTHLY PAY-DAY IN CAMP ON THE GOLD COAST RAILWAY.

;he narrow survey cleavage through the
scrub. These pegs indicate the centre of
;he track. At regular intervals they are
supplemented on one side or the other by
mother stake, known as a " bench mark,"
in which is indicated the altitude at that
particular point. When it came to setting
Dut these indispensable pegs in West Africa
the engineer was confronted with the
possibility of indulging unwittingly in a
plan of re-afforestation. The stakes being
cut from green wood invariably started
to sprout after he had moved on. Then,
as the survey line became obliterated in a
very short space of time, owing to the
amazingly rapid growth of the scrub,
lively interludes and waste of time were

ingly whenever a bench or location mark
of importance had to be indicated the
surveyor utilised something devoid of
sprouting propensities. This generally
assumed the form of a small block of
concrete, sunk into the ground, from the
centre of which projected a few feet of
iron barrel. Such an expedient, while
highly effective, has to be used but
sparingly when one has to move rapidly
through a dense country and when the
only available transport facilities are the
heads of natives !

The right-of-way is somewhat of more
imposing width on the Gold Coast than
generally is allocated for this purpose.
This is essential to protect the track and

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

the telegraph wires from the destructive

effects of windfalls. Some of the trees

indigenous to this country are

Problem? of huSe Pr°P°rtions' ranging
between 20 and 30 feet at
the butt, and running to a height of 140
feet or more. Owing to the exceed-
ingly wet character of the climate, the
trees, generally speaking, are of little or
no commercial value, being for the most
part " soft." Pulping would appear to
be their only possible commercial use. In
fact this should offer a great attraction,
seeing that British manufacturers are com-
pelled to go two or three thousand miles
afield for their supplies of raw material in
the paper-making industry.

While many of the larger trees are some-
what hollow and brittle, being analogous
in this respect to the Canadian cotton-
wood, others are solid through the butt.
Such a tree offers a pretty problem in its
removal from the right-of-way, two or
three days' continuous labour being re-
quired to bring it to the ground. In
clearing operations natives were used
almost exclusively, and although hand-
felling with primitive tools may seem to
lack expedition, in this instance the native
was found to be more efficient, reliable,
and cheaper than the much-vaunted
modern methods. As these large trees
averaged about twenty to the acre of
right-of-way, and about 40 acres per mile
had to be cleaned of all vegetation, this
initial task in itself was a stupendous
undertaking.

The felling of the trees and the cutting

of the luxuriant undergrowth was only

one, and the easiest, half of

Remfdy! the WOrk" When brought to
the ground the vegetation had

to be destroyed, as it was useless for
constructional purposes. The large trees
were split, hacked to pieces, piled and
fired, which, owing to the wet climate
and the wood being green, occupied time.
Then came reckoning with the stump.

As with the majority of trees growing in
a wet region, and where there is a thick
upper layer of decaying vegetable matter,
the roots do not thrust themselves very
deeply into the subsoil, but rather radiate
in all directions along the surface. The
usual method of treating these obstacles,.
was to dig around the stump, severing the
roots, and then to haul the mass to one side
by the aid of rope and tackle to be burned
in due course. Though progress was some-
what slow under these conditions, it was
preferable to blasting the stumps, as it
enabled native labour to be used, whereas i
expert and highly paid skill would have!
been necessary.

Although the swathe through the forest!
is 300 feet wide, the windfall obstruction
of the railway is not eliminated

entirely. Indeed, the inter- Windfall
. ' Dangers.

ruptions from this cause upon

the Gold Coast number about two
hundred per annum ; falling trees con-
stitute the worst foe against which the
management is pitted. The tall giants,?
owing to indifferent root-hold, are brought
down very easily by a high wind, and as
those on the edge of the clearing naturally
lean towards the light, ninety-nine times!
out of a hundred they topple across the
metals.

As the Gold Coast, from its hot, moist j
climate, is virtually a gigantic greenhouse, ii
the undergrowth thrives amaz-

inglv. So much so that it The Ever'
. encroaching

is necessary to cut it back Vegetation.

about twice a year; otherwise
the permanent way runs the risk of being
blotted out within a very short space of
time. Thus the expense of clearing does
not end with the initial operation ; main-
tenance of the open space through the
jungle is unavoidably expensive ; in fact ;
it represents a prominent item in the .
working costs.

As a rule when such a country is opened i
up by railway, a pioneer line is laid. '
Expense is kept down to the lowest i

THE RAILWAY INVASION OF THE GOLD COAST 67

Wise
iPolicy.

ossible amount, the engineers following
ic path of least resistance, reducing earth-
orks to the minimum as well as dis-
egarding the elements of curvature and
rade. Then, as the railway settles down
nd the traffic grows, elaborate overhauling
s taken in hand and the line is rebuilt
ractically. This policy has been found to
e the most successful and remunerative
n the United States, Canada and Australia,
ut it has its drawbacks ; re-aligning
Iways is expensive, as I demonstrate in
subsequent chapter.

In the case of the Gold Coast Railway
ic guiding principle was " First cost :
last cost." True it made the
bill for construction somewhat
heavy, but the wisdom of the
bolicy has been justified completely by
results. No grades exceeding 1 in 50 or
:urves of a less radius than 330 feet
permitted. Some heavy earthworks
)ecame requisite at places, while some of
;he embankments are of large proportions.
The rails, weighing 50 Ib. per yard, are
aid upon pressed steel sleepers — wood was
useless — while there is a complete absence
of timber trestles or bridges from one end
of the line to the other.

Although a high-class railway was laid
down the constructional costs were reduced
appreciably by exclusive resort to native
abour and methods. One searched the
grade in vain for steam shovels and other
heavy and expensive mechanical appli-
ances familiar to similar works in other
parts of the world — all because the negro
and his crude ways and means of doing
things were found to be quicker, better,
and cheaper. Nor was the spoil removed
from this cutting to build up that em-
ibankment, as is the invariable rule. The
former was thrown to one side, while the
material required to fill a depression was
taken from an adjacent ballast, or " bor-
row " pit.

The engineers were handicapped seriously
by being compelled to carry every ounce of

material required for the railway from the
railhead, whence it was brought by train
to the point of construction

upon the heads of natives. On "A

Gol-durned
one occasion the engineer was Country."

describing the methods which
had been adopted to a party of interested
gentlemen, among whom was an American.
The latter was familiar with the procedure
followed by railway builders in his own
country, and that human heads should be
utilised for transport purposes perplexed
him keenly. He reflected for a few seconds,
and then, determined to solve what to
him was a quaint puzzle, he fired the
inevitable " Why ? "

" Oh ! Because there was no other
way ! " was the retort.

'' What ? " ejaculated the astonished
American. " Weren't there any animals
—horses, mules or oxen ? "

" No ! " retorted the engineer blandly.
" Only snakes and mosquitoes ! "

The American was nonplussed, but he
dismissed the Gold Coast as being a
" Gol-durned country."

The disadvantage of building the railway
from one end only was that as rapidly as
an embankment was raised

the rails had to be laid over Subsidences

and
it, no interval being per- Wash-outs.

mitted to allow settlement
to take place. Inasmuch as the earth-
works were built on treacherous ground,
although the depressions were drained as
far as practicable, and the ballast was little
better than loam or silt, subsidences were
frequent. When the wet season set in the
new earthworks suffered heavily at places,
the soft soil either being washed away,
packing tightly, or spreading, thereby
producing ominous " sink holes." Further
dumping and ballasting had to be carried
out, the metals being lifted with jacks as
the ballast was tamped beneath. To make
matters worse, as the line approached the
gold district, the mines, instead of shipping
their material over the route followed

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

before the coming of the railway, landed supplement their means of existence. The

it at Sekondi and dispatched it to the wages from the civilised point of view

railhead, whence it was transported over- certainly were not princely, averaging a

land. The result was that the railhead shilling per day with all found, but the

not only became choked with railway con- native was perfectly satisfied. When work

TESTING A BRIDGE CN THE GOLD COAST RAILWAY.

structional material for the line, but also
with goods for the mines.

As the railway penetrated the jungle
the labour question became somewhat
acute. The forest is practically tenantless.
White labour was impossible, even if it
had been available, from motives of cost
and the susceptibility of the white man
to the dreaded indigenous diseases. So
a native recruiting campaign was in-
augurated. The District Commissioners of
the British West African colonies circulated
appeals for labourers throughout their
respective territories. At first the harvest
was not very inspiring, but as the negroes
learned that the White Man's money was
certain and regular, and that fair treatment
was meted out, while good food was pro-
vided, they accepted the opportunity to

was in full swing 16,000 natives found
steady employment, 12,000 of whom were
brought in from Lagos. Upon the com-
pletion of the railway this vast army, or
those who preferred, were restored to
their homes. The natives proved to be
highly intelligent, and for the most part
developed into good workmen. They were
accommodated in large camps, which
assumed such proportions, with serried
rows of well-thatched huts, as to suggest
prosperous native villages.

The negroes proved tractable and, on
the whole, were not so lazy as those found
in other parts of the continent. Squads
of natives were drilled to act as police,
and they kept law and order in a perfect
manner. Once a month the whole toiling
population lined up round the engineer's

THE RAILWAY INVASION OF THE GOLD COAST 69

hut, gaily bedecked and dressed as if for
a fete. In the hut was a table and one
or two engineers, before whom the natives
passed in a regular, well-ordered queue
to draw the reward for their labours in
the coin of the realm.

The cost of construction was inflated
very appreciably owing to the distance of
the railway from the purchasing mar-
kets. Every ounce of provisions, building
material, and other necessaries had to be
brought from England. The one item of
freight was exceedingly heavy, many articles
by the time they were landed at Sekondi
having increased seven- or eight-fold in
price, and this handicap was felt most
seriously in connection with such com-
modities as matches, sugar, soap, and so
forth.

A vessel laden with supplies put out
from Liverpool once every month while

work was in progress. The commissariat
was a heavy responsibility, bearing in
mind the large army of toilers that had to
be fed. But the arrangements were laid
so carefully that no apprehensions ever
arose under this heading, although now
and again everything went awry from
some unforeseen mishap, such as the total
wreck of a supply steamer off the West
African coast. Losses in landing at Se-
kondi, owing to the absence of harbour
facilities, were considerable, but this was
a drawback which could not be com-
passed. These misfortunes, however,
affected the progress of the railway more
adversely than the labourers. Several
weeks' delay ensued while duplicate orders
of the lost material were being fulfilled
at home and shipped.

As the railway was approaching Tarkwa
in 1899 the first serious indication of native

...

A CONSTANT MENACE TO SECTIONS OF THE GOLD COAST RAILWAY.
A wash-out in the Achemotah Valley.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

hostility to the white invasion became

manifest. In April, 1900, King Prempeh

rose in rebellion. The dis-

Thf affection spread like wildfire.

Ashanti

Rebellion. The engineers working on the

advance works, or engaged in
survey-revision work, were deserted, while
the negroes imported into the country
for the enterprise, becoming nervous, re-
treated towards the coast or the big camps.
The survey engineers, concluding that the
rising was somewhat trivial, stuck to their
ground, only to retreat when they learned
the true significance of the outbreak, or
to be driven in. Work at the railhead
was thrown all sixes and sevens. Importa-
tion of labourers from the adjacent terri-
tories was stopped summarily, the govern-
ment fearing that upon being landed the
recruits might go over to the enemy. The
natives already in employment were com-
mandeered by the military authorities to
act as carriers for the troops selected for
the forced march to Coomassie to quell
the outbreak. There was a complete dis-
organisation, and everything was brought
to a standstill.

In 1899, prior to the outbreak of the
war, Mr. Frederic Shelford, who had taken
over the reins of railway build-
e uo d mg Operations upon the retire-
ment of his father, and who
inherited the pioneer's enthusiasm in a
vigorous railway expansion policy for the
Gold Coast, matured plans for continu-
ing northwards from Tarkwa to Coo-
massie. Prospectors scouring the country
north of the existing gold district had
discovered further deposits of the yellow
metal. Mr. Shelford, having been on the
spot, recognised the extent of this later
discovery, as well as the possibilities of
developing other resources which were lying
dormant. Thus the moment was oppor-
tune for extension, and he communicated
his views to the Right Honourable Joseph
Chamberlain, who was then Colonial Secre-
tary. The Minister was sympathetic, but

Extension to
Coomassie.

a counter-proposal had been advanced by
Sir William Maxwell, the Governor of the
Gold Coast, for the building of a line from
Accra, the English capital, to Coomassie.
Mr. Chamberlain agreed that a railway
should be built to the Ashanti strong-
hold, though he suggested that surveys
should be made both from Accra and
Tarkwa respectively to Coomassie. He
promised, whichever route was the more
favourable, that construction should be
undertaken without delay, as he was fully
alive to the urgent necessity of the enter-
prise.

The survey between Tarkwa and Coo-
massie was undertaken by Mr. Frederic
Shelford personally, and he
started out with one assis-
tant and fifty native porters.
Progress was found to be even more dif-
ficult than it had been between the coast
and Tarkwa. It was an endless tramp
through a succession of evil swamps and
dense jungle, where the rainfall is terrific,
4 or 5 inches of water being by no means
uncommon in a single " tropical shower."
There was not a single native track to help
Mr. Shelford. His compass was his sole
guide, and he hacked and hewed his
path foot by foot. In order that he
should not be impeded in his reconnais-
sance, the personal impedimenta had been
reduced to the scantiest necessities. No
camp outfit was carried beyond a few
utensils for the preparation of the food,
and to filter and boil the drinking water.
At the end of the day a small clearing a
few feet in circumference was made, to
allow the camp, such as it was, to be
pitched, while the ground, with its damp
pile of rotting vegetation, constituted their
couch.

This expedition also met with misfor-
tune. Mr. Shelford's assistant was struck
down by black-water fever before they
had penetrated far. While this recon-
naissance was being driven, the Ashanti
War broke out, although the party were

THE RAILWAY INVASION OF THE GOLD COAST 71

ignorant of the fact. Mr. Shclford plodded
forward, cutting, hacking, and hewing his
narrow way through the forbidding and
now hostile country. Fortunately for him,
he escaped the vengeance of the rebellious
natives, who evidently had massed at

of the mines went forward with a rush.
In one stroke the transportation charges
were reduced from £40 to £5 per ton,
and the effect was felt immediately. The
heaviest machinery now could be brought
up with ease and installed. Before many

THE ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST LOCOMOTIVE IN COOMASSIE.

Coomassie. The result was that when he
at last gained Prempeh's capital he was
surprised to find the English troops in pos-
session. He himself was the first English-
man to enter the stronghold from Sckondi.
His northward dash from Tarkwa, spying
out the lay of the country for the railway,
had taken about three weeks. The survey
thus obtained was compared with that
run via Accra to Coomassie, and, being
found preferable from all points of view,
it received official acceptance.

The overthrow of the Ashanti king and
the pacification of the country after its
addition to the Gold Coast enabled the
construction of the railway to be re-
sumed, and in May, 1901, Tarkwa was
linked to the coast. Then the development

months had elapsed the heart of the hinter-
land was a throbbing hive of activity.

There was no pause in railway-building
operations. The Sekondi-Tarkwa-Coomassie
survey having met with approval, the
advance to the former capital of Ashanti
was commenced in June, 1901. Eighteen
months later the railway had penetrated to
Obuassi, 86 miles beyond Tarkwa, having
advanced at the rate of 4f miles per month,
which, bearing in mind the heavy clearing
and earthworks which were necessary,
constituted a striking performance. In
September, 1903, the objective was reached
— Coomassie was brought into railway com-
munication with Sekondi on the coast.

So far as bridges are concerned, heavy
works of this character were not found

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The
Bridges.

necessary. The most important, perhaps,
is the Ancobra Bridge, on the branch
line, 19 miles in length, which
runs from Tarkvva to Prestea.
This bridge has four spans —
two approach each of 45 feet, one of 90
feet, and a central span of 180 feet respec-
tively. The erection of the main big span
was carried out on the overhang or canti-
lever system, the spans on either side being
used as anchorages. The bridge is of the
half- through, or " trough " type, supported
upon concrete piers 40 feet in height. The
next largest bridge is that across the Huni
River, the main span of which has a
length of 150 feet. All the smaller bridges
are of a permanent character, with con-
crete piers and abutments, and steel plate
girders.

The rolling stock is of the latest type.

The locomotives follow the British design

with American cow-catcher

and head-»ght- The most
powerful engines are of the
4-8-0 class, and these handle the traffic
between Sekondi and Coomassie. To pro-
tect the European drivers from the sun
and rain the roomy cab is fitted with a
double roof. The coaches are of the end-
corridor pattern, upholstered according to
the class.

It comes as a surprise to the stranger to
the Gold Coast, who is familiar with the
railway travelling comforts of home, to
find cars fitted with kitchens, sleeping-
berths, baths, and other luxuries traversing
a country which only a little more than a
decade ago was " dark " in the fullest
interpretation of the word. His astonish-
ment is complete when he finds that he
can assuage his thirst upon the " Coo-
massie Limited " with a bottle of Bass for
sixpence, or a whisky-and-soda for nine-
pence ! Truly the advance of civilisation
is rapid.

The metamorphosis of West Africa con-
stitutes one of the most remarkable inci-
dents in railway history. In few other

the
Railway has

countries where maps were non-existent,
where the rainfall averages as much in a
month as during a year in
Great Britain, where the forest
was untrodden, and where ma- Done.
laria reigned supreme, has so
sudden and complete a change been wrought
in such a short space of time. In 1897
Sekondi was a handful of straggling mud
huts dotting the shore. To-day it is a
busy terminal port with sidings, substantial
administration buildings, a hospital, and
other attributes to a busy growing centre.
In August, 1898, the engineers commenced
to carve their way through the forest, and
although work was interrupted by scarcity
of labour, a harassing climate, and the
Ashanti War, the first 40 miles to Tarkwa
were completed in May, 1901 — a matter
of thirty-three months. The overthrow of
King Prcmpeh and the resultant pacifica-
tion of the country enabled construction
to go forward more rapidly on the northern
extension, Obuassi being reached in seven-
teen months, while the last lap of 44
miles into Coomassie was finished in seven
months — an average advance of 6'3 miles
per month. On the Tarkwa-Obuassi sec-
tion rail-laying reached 12 miles per month,
which conveys some idea of the energy
with which the work was prosecuted when
untrammelled.

This achievement is all the more re-
markable when the difficulties concerning
the personnel are borne in mind. The
changes in the staff were everlasting,
owing to sickness. During the progress
of the work no fewer than ten chief
engineers were appointed in turn.

Does the line pay ? Well, whereas in
1905 the net receipts were £51,000, in
1911 the net earnings were £183,798. Such
a result proves conclusively that the
£1,857,237 sunk in the railway develop-
ment of the Gold Coast is proving a
highly profitable investment, which is
certain to increase as the illimitable re-
sources of the country are opened up.

THE HURLEY TRACK-LAYER AT WORK.
This machine lays and spaces the sleepers on the ground and sets the rails.

The Labour- and Time-Saving
Track-Layer and its Work

A WONDERFUL MACHINE FOR LAYING RAILWAYS ALONG GREAT DISTANCES

NE of the most interesting
developments, from the
mechanical point of view, has
been the perfection of methods
for laying the metals. So far
as Great Britain is concerned
there is no need to depart from
the practice of laying sleepers and rails
which has obtained since railways came
into being. Mechanical systems never
would pay here, because the day of big
railway undertakings seems to have drawn

10 73

to a close. The mechanical track-layer,
to prove its value, demands a clear run
of several score miles ; then its force is
demonstrated somewhat powerfully.

In order to obtain the most telling
expressions of its utility one must visit
Canada and the United States, where
railway expansion upon a huge scale is in
progress. Hand labour never could cope
with this situation ; metals and sleepers
are weighty to handle. So of necessity the
mechanical system was evolved.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The track-layer is mistitled somewhat,
according to Old World interpretations of
railway building. It does not lay the
track lock, stock, and barrel complete for
service — it simply dumps the sleepers on
the ground and places the rails upon them.

33-feet lengths of steel weighing maybe
90 Ib. and 100 Ib. per yard, is hard, slow
work. At the same time it enables the
glittering ribbon of steel to advance more
rapidly through the country than is possible
under manual methods ; the railhead is

Photograph by permission of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway.
THE ADVANCE OF THE TRACK-LAYER, SHOWING THE GRADE AHEAD.

The two are then temporarily gauged up
and secured together. It is merely a
skeleton -track, sufficient for the movement
of constructional trains and material to
the front. The track has to be completed
by hand in the usual manner before it is
fitted for ordinary service. Still, by laying
the metals in this manner the saving in
human muscle, physical exertion, and labour
in the first instance is very appreciable,
because throwing about heavy baulks of
timber measuring 8 feet in length, by
8 inches wide and 6 inches deep, and

kept in closer touch with actual work upon
the grade.

Although the track-layer may differ in
many details of construction, the funda-
mental design and principles of operation
are common, except in one instance, which
I shall describe later. It is a cumbrous,
lumbering piece of machinery carried on
a flat car. At its forward end is a gantry
or gallows-like structure, from the base
of which project two booms, one on each
side, whence the rails are handled. The
deck of the car carries the steam plant for

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

the supply of power to the machinery,
while on an upper platform are stationed
two men who carry out the delicate task
of setting the rails in position. In a crow's
nest, immediately beside these men, and
commanding a complete uninterrupted view
of the whole operations in front, sits the
man in charge of the track-laying gang.
Immediately behind the track-layer come

with spikes, which, in revolving, grip the
under side of the sleeper and propel it
forward. The baulks are hurled through
the trough in a continuous stream, the
supply to the forward gang being governed
entirely by the rate of the feed from the
trucks into the conveyor.

The operation is very simple. The con-
structional engineer has left the grade

/L /
1 ©

L. — Vertical shaft which allows truss
to swing on curves.

CO CO COT

SLEEPER CAR SECTION.

I.— Sleepers rolled on to moving rails and carried
forward to the machine.

THE HURLEY TRACK-LAYER

the trucks piled up with the steel rails,
and an adequate supply of fish-plates.
Then follows the engine, and lastly the
deck cars stacked high with the sleepers.
The locomotive thus is placed in the centre
of the equipment. Extending along one
side of the train, from end to end, is a big
wooden trough, through which the sleepers
are conveyed from the trucks to the grade
beyond. This trough projects some 40 feet
or more beyond the track-layer. Thus the
sleepers are shot on the ground more than
a full rail length ahead. The bottom of
this trough is fitted with rollers armed

carried to formation level ; its surface is
clean, level, and clear. Down the centre
of this pathway runs a row of pegs corre-
sponding to the location stakes of the
surveyor. As these pegs coincide with
the centre line between the rails, the fore-
man casts off his distance on one side and
sets his gauge line.

The track-layer lumbers up to the end
of the completed track under the pushing
effort of the locomotive, and then work
commences. The track-laying gang is dis-
tributed over the train and the grade
in front. The convcvor rollers rattle and

THE LABOUR- AND TIME-SAVING TRACK-LAYER 77

clank ; the men on the first sleeper truck
behind pitch the baulks into the trough as
fast as they can. With an ear-splitting
din the timbers are hurried forward, and
are disgorged upon the grade ahead.
As rapidly as they fall out of the
trough they are prised, pulled, pushed,
and tugged into position, spaced the
requisite distance apart, while care is

perfunctorily carried out, everything being
trued up hastily.

Directly a rail on each side has been laid
the machine crawls forward. The extent
of this intermittent advance varies accord-
ing to whether the joints in the rails are
in line or broken. In the first instance
progress will be the length of a rail ; in
the second case only about half that dis-

K. — 12 wheels, all drivers.

J.— Compression rollers which grip
rails and draw them forward.

M. — Trip which lets in sleeper for each
attachment on conveyor chain.

CO CO

(0 CO

RAIL CAR SECTION.

G.— Position of rail after being lowered on to roller.

SHOWN DIAGRAMMATICALLY.

seen that one end toes the gauge line at
the side.

Meanwhile the men on the trucks laden
with the rails temporarily attach a pair of
fish-plates to one end of a 33-feet length
of steel, which is caught up and whisked
to the front. It is lowered steadily, the
free end drops between the two fish-plates
on the last rail laid, bolts are slipped
through to connect up, the gauge is struck,
and with a few deft swings of the heavy
sledges the gangers drive a spike here and
there to clinch the metal to the sleepers
below. In the first instance the work is

tance. The noise is deafening. The screech
of steam mingles with the rumbling and
growling of the sleepers as they come
bumping along the wooden conveyor trough.
There is the ring of steel as the rails are
swung out and lowered, and the clash of
metal as the heavy sledges are swung to
drive home the spikes and bolts. Above
all may be heard the raucous shouts and
orders of the man in the crow's nest, and
the babble of the 120 odd men, probably
of half a dozen nationalities, shouting with
the force of megaphones to make them-
selves heard.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Under favourable conditions the metals
can be laid at an average rate of two miles
per day. When the going has
been particularly advantageous,
and a full gang of expert men
has been available, the railway has crept
forward between four and five miles
between sunrise and sunset. There is a
friendly rivalry among the crews, and if
a chance presents itself, they let them-
selves go with infinite zest in the effort
to create a day's record. But the track
so laid is extremely crude — a skeleton
line in the fullest sense of the word, and
little better than that laid down by the
constructional armies for the movement
of their ballast wagons and material.
When the track-layer has passed and the
strip of white level grade has received its
steel embellishment, the line looks as if
it had been twisted and buckled by a
seismic disturbance, or had writhed under
extreme expansion set up by an abnormally
hot summer's day.

Hard on the heels of the track-layer come
the aligning and levelling gangs. They
straighten the kinks in the ribbon of steel,
correct all the sags by lifting and packing
ballast under the sleepers, and complete
the trueing and bolting up, as well as
the spiking to every sleeper. Over this
skeleton track, trains may move forward
at slow speed — say up to six or eight miles
an hour. As the rails are laid on the sub-
grade, and ballasting is not carried out
until later, very little effort is required to
throw the track out of gauge. I recall one
journey I made on the engine of a con-
struction train shortly after the metals had
been laid. Three times in as many miles
the engine dropped between the metals
owing to the spreading of the rails. But the
construction train expects such interludes,
and, in anticipation, carries a goodly supply
of tackle aboard in the form of powerful
jacks, whereby the engine is lifted back again
without very much trouble or serious delay.
Then the train is backed a few feet, and

the men on board fix up the road by bring-
ing the rails into gauge so that the train
may pass.

The foregoing type of track-layer has
been that in general use for many years,
and has given general satis-
faction. From time to time An

. Unfortunate

the details are improved, lor inventor.

the purpose of facilitating the
avowed task of the machine. One man
who had completed such an improvement
came to an unfortunate end. He was on
the track-layer, giving instructions, when
he slipped. Before he was able to recover
himself he was on his back in the sleeper
conveyor, was caught by the spikes on the
rollers, and was ground to death by the
ever-moving stream of timbers before he
could be extricated.

Recently a distinct improvement has
been effected upon the foregoing type of
machine. The latter does not lay the
track, it merely delivers the material for
manual power to set in position. Still,
when it is remembered that, upon a
modern railway of standard gauge, the
aggregate of metal and wood which has
to be handled represents a matter of 350
tons per mile, it will be acknowledged that
it constitutes a very helpful auxiliary.

The latest machine, known as the Hurley
Track-layer, better justifies its name, inas-
much as it automatically lays
the sleepers and rails in posi- _ e k_| ey
tion on the ground. Manual
effort is reduced to the minimum. The
whole working principle of the Hurley
apparatus differs from that of the ordinary
appliance. Instead of moving forward
intermittently a matter of 16 feet or so at
a time, it travels constantly — very slowly,
it is true — as the drive is transmitted to
the wheels through reducing gear, the
speed being designed so as to ensure
continuity of track-laying and progress
simultaneously. A locomotive for pushing
purposes is not required — the plant is
self-contained, and a distinct working unit.

THE LABOUR- AND TIME-SAVING TRACK-LAYER

The travelling speed varies from 12 to 40 The train is completed with the cars laden

feet per minute, far slower than a loco- with rails. Instead of a conveyor trough,

motive could move, and at this speed it two rollers are laid on each side, and at

can haul a train, ranging up to thirty the respective ends, of each car.
laden cars, according to the grade. The modus operandi is very simple.

Photograph by permission of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway.

THE "LIFTING" GANG TRUE-ING, LIFTING AND LEVELLING RAILS AND COMPLETING SPIKING

TO SLEEPERS.

The mechanical car carries a pair of
reversible stationary engines which suffice
to actuate the machinery and to drive the
train. From this car projects a huge
truss, which overhangs the grade, whereby
the sleepers and rails are delivered to the
ground. Immediately behind the engine
car is the fuel and water supply truck.
This can be detached from the track-layer
and hauled back to the loading point to be
replenished at the end of the day's work.
Then follow the trucks loaded with the
sleepers, which are stacked transversely.

Work commences at the first car of rails
behind the track-layer, the rails being
stacked in the form of a pyramid on
the flat truck. This latter is fitted with
a portable frame, or gantry, the legs of
which drop into pockets in the frame of
the vehicle. This frame carries an overhead
friction hoist. The rails are lifted one by
one from the stack and lowered on to the
rollers, where they are connected together
by slipping a couple of bolts through the
connecting fish-plates. The result is that
the rails move forward in a continuous

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

length to the track-layer, travelling over
the rollers at the side. When the first
truck has been exhausted of rails, the
gantry is lifted out of its pockets and
transferred to the succeeding vehicle, and
so on until the whole of the rails have been
sent forward.

As the rails move along the rollers
they pass over the trucks laden with
the sleepers, but underneath the two
sides of the stack, and in such a way as
to be clear of the latter. On each of these
trucks are piled from 375 to 500 baulks,
according to the length of the vehicle.
As the rails travel forward, men stationed
on the wagons roll the sleepers on to
them, so that the rails really become a
conveyor. Other members of the crew,
standing on side planks, space the sleepers
upon the moving track the same intervals
apart as they will occupy when laid on the
ground. Thus one sees a length of in-
verted track moving constantly towards
the front of the train.

When the moving rails with their sleepers

reach the engine car, the two become

separated, the rails passing

ow e between friction rollers, which

Sleepers are
Placed. supply the forward moving

effort to the rails, while the
sleepers are sent upwards, still the allotted
distance apart, over the top of the machine,
along the upper side of the truss, and are
delivered on to the ground by means of a
conveyor. As the track-layer is moving
forward constantly, and owing to the truss
overhanging the grade ahead, the sleepers
are tumbled exactly into their requisite
position, and the correct distance apart
upon the ground. All that has to be done
is to see that they toe the gauge line, men
armed with tongs effecting this adjustment
without undue effort. As the truss gives
a clearance of 8 feet clear above the road-
bed, there is ample space for the men
to work beneath.

The rails, after parting company with
their sleepers, and being drawn through

the friction rollers, are detached. The
fish-plate bolt is withdrawn from one end,
while the other is loosened,

so that the two fish-plates How, l!\e Rails

are Laid.

are left on the rear end of
each rail. This task completed, the rail
is drawn forward by means of speed rollers,
and passes along the lower edge of the
truss to a point about 20 feet ahead of
the front of the car. Here it is grabbed
by specially fashioned tongs, and lowered
until the rear end drags along the rail
previously laid. It is held suspended until
it has come within some 12 inches of the
end of the rail on the ground. A man
then swings the suspended rail forward
until the attached fish-plates drop over
the end of the previous rail, the pressing
tendency of the swinging length of metal
being sufficient to keep the two ends
together until a clamp, which holds both
fish-plates and rails together, is applied,
when the tongs are released. A bolt is
slipped in to join the new to the
previous rail, the clamp is released, the
forward end of the rail is lowered upon the
sleepers, while bolting-up and spiking here
and there are accomplished during the
interval the track-layer is moving forward
20 feet. Thus the machine moves on to
the new length of metal without a pause.

The machine section of the train is a
weighty mass, turning the scale at some
65 tons, but this weight is distributed over
a wheel-base of some 50 feet. As the
Hurley track-layer completes the whole
operation without the assistance of a
locomotive, a saving from £5 to £8 per
day under this heading alone is effected,
while as a smaller crew is sufficient to
handle the complete equipment than in
the case of the ordinary type of track-layer,
the machine is both money- and labour-
saving.

Some remarkable achievements have been
placed on record with this machine. A
force of 42 men can lay 2 miles of track
a day, while a small squad of 18 hands

THE LABOUR- AND TIME-SAVING TRACK-LAYER 81

can complete Ij miles in the same time.
With an expert full crew, 1,800 feet of
metals have been laid in an hour. Weather
conditions do not affect the working speed,
and even swampy ground can be crossed
in safety, and without inflicting the slightest
damage upon the road-bed, owing to the
long wheel-base and distribution of weight.
In Wisconsin 3,000 feet of track were laid
in a couple of hours, notwithstanding the
fact that during the greater part of this
time a blinding snowstorm was raging.

The apparatus is just as effective upon
curves as upon stretches of tangent track.
The overhanging truss is able to swing to
the curvature, owing to the construction
of its front end, and the sleepers are
deposited to the centre line upon the ground
under all conditions. From the money-
saving point of view its value is forcibly

emphasised, judging from results achieved
in building the Kansas City, Mexico and
Orient Railway, where the engineer-in-
chief estimates that the machine has saved
him over £40 per mile, as compared with
other methods of track-laying.

Subsequent to the passing of the track-
layer the road has to be overhauled from
time to time — ballasted, lifted — so as to
bring it into the pink of condition for fast
and heavy traffic. If the actual cost of
construction is compared with the manual
system practised in Great Britain and
Europe generally, it is doubtful whether
it shows any advantage, but it certainly
offers a means of getting the metals down
more quickly, so as to provide an improved
and accelerated means of transporting
material, and men for grading, to the
front.

•

LAYING THE METALS AT THE RATE OF FIVE MILES A DAY.
The track-layer at work on the Chicago, Milwaukee and Puget Sound Railway.

THE TWO TYPES OF BOILERS READY FOR THE TEST AT THE TRIAL GROUNDS.

A Safety Locomotive Boiler

BOILER-BURSTS ARE COMPARATIVELY COMMON IN AMERICA. HERE IS
DESCRIBED AN INTERESTING TEST OF THE EFFICIENCY OF A NEW

FORM OF BOILER

ORTUNATELY for railway
travellers and others in Great
Britain, the explosion of the
boiler of a railway engine is a
very rare occurrence, owing to
the skill and care devoted to
construction and maintenance,
as well as to the thoughtful management
of those responsible for its operation. But
the United States present a very vivid
contrast in this respect. There, on the
average, a railway engine blows up once
a week, and this class of calamity accounts
for a long list of killed and maimed, as
well as damage to the tune of several
hundreds of thousands of pounds to
property per annum.

Investigation invariably tends to attribute
these disasters to one of two causes — a
defect in manufacture, or gross mismanage-
ment. Of course, in a few instances, even
the most searching examination fails to

offer a reason for the accident, but such
mysteries are few and far between. Taken
on the whole it is the penalty of care-
lessness which has to be feared the
most, and in the direction of con-
troverting this danger little has been
possible of accomplishment by the rail-
way companies, seeing that it turns upon
the human factor.

The ordinary type of locomotive boiler
is safe and reliable so long as it is handled
with due care and thoughtfulness. Other-
wise disaster swift and sudden is encount-
ered. If the level of the water in the
boiler is permitted to fall to such an extent
that the roof or " crown " of the fire-box
becomes uncovered, an explosion is in-
evitable. The fierce heat of the fire raises
the temperature of the uncovered metal to
such a degree that it loses its strength,
cannot withstand the pressure of the
steam within, and is driven inwards.

A SAFETY LOCOMOTIVE BOILER

A certain amount of resistance to this
internal pressure of the steam is provided
by securing the crown sheet of the fire-box
to the outer shell of the boiler by means
of radial stay-bolts. So long as the water
level is kept above the danger limit this
security is adequate and the fire-box is
held to its shape against the steam
pressure. On the other hand, if through
negligence or by oversight the crown
of the fire-box is exposed to the fire,
the stay-bolts become impotent, and are
torn through the sheet, which then col-
lapses.

Two American engineers, Messrs. Jacobs

and Shupert, in the locomotive shops of

the Atchison, Topeka and

The Jacobs- s t Fe Railway Company,
Shupert J J'

Boiler. realising this weak feature

of the ordinary boiler, en-
deavoured to design a type which would
hold up against a low water level. After
experimenting for several years they suc-
ceeded in their quest, and produced a boiler
which is stronger and safer than those in
general use. It was subjected to several
tests and trials upon the railway, and,
being found successful, has become
widely adopted throughout the United
States.

This Jacobs-Shupert boiler is built up
in sections. The radial stay-bolts which
hold the ordinary fire-box to shape are
dispensed with entirely. Instead, there
are a number of deep flanges, extending
from the outer shell of the boiler to the
inner shell of the fire-box. The shell of
the latter is built up of a number of
channel sections of arch shape, and these
are riveted to the inside edges of the
stay flanges. The adoption of the section
secures exceedingly strong construction.
Moreover, as the section is strongly riveted
to the inner edges of the flanges, the crown
sheet is able to withstand an enormous
amount of pressure, which becomes dis-
tributed over a very great area before it
can be wrenched free and driven in.

The inventors embarked upon a series
of elaborate experiments to discover the
behaviour of their boiler

under low water conditions. Interesting
... Experiments.

Adjoining their Coatesville

works in Pennsylvania an elaborate testing
plant was set up in a field. The boilers
were rigged up, charged with water, and
then fired, the water being permitted to
fall lower and lower until the crown of the
fire-box was well exposed. Inasmuch as
the boiler could not be stoked by a fireman
in the usual manner, owing to the possibility
of a blow-up, oil-fuel was used, being con-
trolled from a safe distant point. In order
to follow the falling level of the water as
represented by the gauge, as well as to
secure continuous readings of the steam
pressure indicated upon its gauge, a bomb-
proof shelter comprising a boiler laid on
its side, and backed with baulks and earth,
was erected some distance away for the
accommodation of the observers. The read-
ings were taken from this point by the aid
of a telescope mounted on the roof of the
bomb-proof shelter. Thus it was possible
to follow the tests closely in perfect safety.

The numerous experiments made in this
way fully confirmed the statements ad-
vanced by the inventors
concerning the properties of fnndependent
their boiler, and the reduced Test.
liability, if not complete im-
munity, from accident ensured by the same
when the fireman, through oversight or
carelessness, permitted the water to fall
somewhat low.

Finally, in order to secure an indepen-
dent expert opinion, as well as comparative
results, an interesting trial was carried out
by Dr. W. F. M. Goss, Dean of the College
of Engineering of the University of Illinois,
who is probably the greatest authority upon
this subject in America.

In carrying out this test it was not
only decided to submit the Jacobs-Shupert
boiler to an unprecedented gruelling, but
also to ascertain how far it was proof

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

against explosion arising from low water gauge, so mounted as to be seen readily

conditions. Comparative results also were through the telescope.

to be made with a view to ascertaining Each boiler was then connected to the

what the ordinary type of boiler could feed water supply and set going until it

withstand in this connection, and also to
determine whether, as had been main-

reached the conditions which would prevail
in actual express service. This was estim-

EXTERIOR VIEW OF BOILER. WITH JACOBS-SHUPERT FIRE-BOX. IMMEDIATELY AFTER LOW

WATER TESTS.

Note blistering of paint on outside of fire-box, due to intense heat.

tained, a low water level was a positive
cause of explosion.

For this purpose two full-sized locomotive
boilers, such as are used for heavy express
service, the one'a Jacobs-Shupert and the
other of the ordinary radial type, were set
up in the experimental field. They were
placed 50 feet apart, and the observer took
up his position in the bomb-proof shelter
placed 200 feet away. The fire-box end
of each boiler faced the observer, and each
carried a graduated water gauge and steam

ated to be equal to 1,400 horse-power, which
would be sufficient to haul a fully loaded
train at 60 miles an hour over a level
road. At this juncture the feed water was
cut off, but nothing else was touched.

The Jacobs-Shupert boiler was tried first.
The observers followed the falling water
for 55 minutes, by which time, according to
the reading of the gauge, it had descended
25| inches below the crown sheet. It may
have fallen to a lower level, but this was
the limit of the gauge glass. During the

BLOWING UP.

The ordinary boiler photographed at the instant the crown sheet collapsed. The Jacobs-Shupert
boiler which passed the test successfully is alongside.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

first twenty-seven minutes the steam gauge
indicated a pressure ranging between 215
and 225 pounds. At the lapse of this
period the pressure gradually decreased until
only one of 50 pounds was indicated. The
test was discontinued after 55 minutes, be-
cause the small amount of water remaining
in the boiler did not evaporate fast enough
to ensure the draught necessary to maintain
the fire. No sign of any failure was observed,
and when the boiler was examined there
was adequate external evidence of the
severity of the ordeal through which it
had passed. The paint on the outside of
the fire-box was blistered, and a good deal
had peeled off. It was evident that the
crown sheet of the fire-box must have been
brought to a red-hot condition under the
fierce heat of the fire, but there was not
the slightest sign that it had been weakened
in any way by this extreme temperature,
and it was apparently as fit for service, if
required, as before the test

The second boiler, of the radial stay
type, was subjected to a test precisely
similar to the foregoing in every respect,

the feed water being cut off at an identical
point. The steam gauge indicated a pres-
sure varying from 200 to 233 pounds, anc
after it had been kept going for 23 minutes
the water had fallen to a level 14 J inches
below the crown sheet.

Then the crown sheet and the stays
holding it in position had become heatec
to such a degree that they were wrenchec
apart, and the steam, at 228 pounds
pressure, drove in the sheet. The stean
rushed into the fire-box and there was
a terrific explosion. Although the boilei
weighed 40 tons, it was lifted off its seating
the fire-box was disrupted and fragments
were blown in all directions. When exam-
ined, the boiler was found to be damaged
so extensively as to require reconstruction

This interesting test not only provec
the efficiency of the salient features of th(
Jacobs-Shupert boiler, but also affordec
convincing evidence that low water, wit!
the overheating of the crown sheet, was £
contingency beset with dire consequences
and probably is a common cause for i
railway engine blowing up.

GENERAL VIEW OF THE TESTING GROUND.

Showing the Jacobs-Shupert boiler in position, shelter for observers, and display board
whereon spectators at a distance could follow the variations in the water levels and

steam pressures during the trials.

THE LARGEST INDIVIDUAL RAILWAY YARD IN THE WORLD.
A part of the 120 miles of sidings belonging to the C.P.R. at Winnipeg.

The Canadian Pacific Railway-I

THE STORY OF THE GREAT TRANSCONTINENTAL LINE WHICH IN PARTS COST

£140,000 PER MILE

ALF a century ago the vast
stretch of territory forming
British North America was a
heterogeneous collection of pro-
vinces, each of which virtually
was a little kingdom in itself.
Consequently there was an ab-
solute lack of cohesive working : Canada
presented a striking picture of a country
divided against itself. And this was by
no means the worst feature of the situation.
On the Pacific seaboard was a flourishing
colony, British Columbia, which not only
was cut off from the other prosperous
corners of Canada, but was also isolated
from the Mother Country. In those days
a journey to Vancouver was not to be
undertaken lightly. If approached by water
from England it involved a journey half-
way round the world, and circuitous at
that, since the vessel had to turn the
southern extremity of the American Con-
tinent. On the other hand, the overland

journey was just as forbidding, and quite
as lengthy, because one had to toil afoot
from the head of the Great Lakes over
the prairies and across towering mountain
ranges before the seaboard was gained.

British Columbia was handicapped by
this isolation, so when a scheme was
adumbrated to federate the various pro-
vinces the Pacific colony resolved to profit
from co-operation. It would enter the
confederation on one condition only — that
it was brought into touch with Eastern
Canada and the Atlantic seaboard by a
railway.

The advocates of federation were stag-
gered by this ultimatum. Why, west of
the Great Lakes stretched a wilderness to
the feet of the Rocky Mountains, and then
as unkempt and as wild a stretch of rugged
country to the Western Sea as could be
conceived ! The whole country was in
the melting-pot, and although superhuman
efforts were being made to weave the

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

tangled fabric together, here was one of the compact by promising such railway

the possible parties to the solution of a communication bj 1881. To prove the

vexatious problem stipulating that a rail- sincerity of his purpose a Government

way some 3,000 miles in length should be survey was started under Mr. (now Sir)

THE IMPERIAL LIMITED.

This C.P.R. Transcontinental Express runs direct between Montreal and Vancouver, 2,898 miles.
The engine is changed about twenty times during the journey.

the price of its assistance. The terms were
exacting. But British Columbia stood firm :
a railway, or we stand aloof.

This was in 1871. Sir John Macdonald
had formulated the confederation project,
and he was determined to spare no effort
to bring his pet idea to fruition. But
this railway was a stumbling-block which
he never had anticipated. However, he
accepted the onerous conditions : promised
that the line should be built, and went
so far as to entice British Columbia into

Sandford Fleming, a railway pathfinder to
the manner born.

Fleming rallied his forces and drove his
way steadily across the full breadth of
the continent. Fortunately he was not
handicapped in any way by official red
tape. He was instructed simply to discover
the most practicable route for the trans-
continental steel highway, and he set out
to do it. The outlook was dispiriting, as
it involved a toil through an unknown
wilderness — the undisputed territory of

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY

Fleming's
First Survey.

the Indians, Hudson Bay traders, and
denizens of the forest.

There being no maps to guide him,
young Fleming did the next best thing.
He sought assistance from
the Hudson Bay Company,
whose men knew the western
trails intimately, as they had to pack pro-
visions overland to the Vancouver outpost.

It was a long trail which he drove from
Montreal through Ontario's timber and
rugged fastnesses to Winnipeg, then Fort
Garry, the Hudson Bay trading post. He
struck westwards to Edmonton, and a
few miles beyond picked up Thompson's .
historic trek down the Athabasca River
into the heart of the Rockies. Then he
swung up the Mictte River valley, crossed
into British Columbia at the low altitude
of 3,720 feet, dropped down the western
slope of the Rockies, picked up the
Fraser River, skirted Mount Robson,
the twentieth century showpiece of the
Dominion, gained Tete Jaune Cache, bore
to the south-east, followed the valley of
the Canoe River, came out at Kamloops,
and then struck boldly over the well-
trodden trail of Thompson and Simon
Fraser to the sea.

In addition to this route ten other
reconnaissances were run through the
Rocky Mountains, in which quest Charles
Moberly, a kindred born railway path-
finder, played a very prominent part.
Yet when the results were compared it
was found that the Fleming preliminary
was the easiest and obvious path for the
transcontinental steel highway. That was
way back in 1872, and yet when I followed
in his tracks forty years later I still found
some of his location and bench marks
buried in the dense Canadian under-
growth.

But Fleming's survey was not accepted.
Thirty years were doomed to pass before
its value became appreciated, when one
new transcontinental railway actually fol-
lowed his route through the mountain
12

barrier. This is the Canadian Northern, as
related in another chapter.

In the meantime the project had become
the sport of party jealousy and strife, with
the result that little was done.

Although Sir John Macdonald British
i , j ., ., ,. Columbia's

had promised that the line protest

should be completed by 1881,
the end of 1879 saw the completion of
only a paltry 713 miles. This procras-
tination provoked British Columbia. In
blunt language it reminded the Dominion
Government about its compact, and threat-
ened drastic action if the bargain were not
fulfilled instantly. Thereupon the Govern-
ment swung to he opposite extreme.
Dilatory tactics gave way to feverish haste.
A syndicate comprising influential financial
and technical interests expressed a willing-
ness to take over the Government's respon-
sibilities, and to fulfil the official obligations
to the satisfaction of British Columbia on
terms which were set out specifically.

The Federal Government, pressed by
the Pacific province, was caught at a
disadvantage. The syndicate

»-p«

terms were exacting : — A sub-
Syndicate's
sidy of £5,000,000 sterling, Terms.

together with a free grant of
25,000,000 acres of land, the gift of the
right-of-way as well as space for stations
and so forth ; the free entry of all material ;
exemption from taxation ; and presentation,
immune from all restrictions, of the 713
miles of line already completed. This was
the irreducible minimum upon which the
syndicate was prepared to do business.
Time could not be wasted in further parley-
ing, owing to the attitude of British Colum-
bia, so the conditions were accepted, the
Dominion Government merely stipulating
in return that the line should be opened
for traffic in the spring of 1891.

Work was commenced forthwith and
went ahead with a swing until the funds
to defray construction ran out. A crash
appeared to be inevitable. The London
market resolutely refused to advance a

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

RED SUCKER TUNNEL ON THE LAKE SUPERIOR SECTION OF THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

single penny towards the enterprise. In
desperation the company turned to the
Dominion Government, which granted a
loan of £6,000,000 upon what hostile critics
declared to be a lost cause.

Although probably never in the history
of railways has a constructional proposal
been treated so liberally, possibly no enter-
prise so large ever experienced so many
vicissitudes. The company, confronted
with the necessity of maintaining an
average advance of 250 miles per year in
order to meet the time limit, toiled un-
ceasingly to keep things going by hook or
by crook. Disputes were frequent ; threats
among the sub-contractors to " chuck the
job " were heard on every hand ; work was
scamped at places ; while at other points
the engineers were worried out of their
wits over the cheap and speedy solution
of exasperating technical problems. Nor

was the financial aspect free from anxiety :
harassing questions arose at every turn.
The inside history of the Canadian Pacific
Railway never has been written, but when
it is recorded it will be found to reveal a
persistent and continuous stubborn struggle
against threatening disaster.

Fortunately men were found capable of
grappling with ominous situations. Among
these were Sir William Van Home on the
engineering, and Lords Strathcona and
Mountstephen on the financial sides. By
prodigious effort they kept construction
going, although at times they were some-
what downcast by the outlook, especially
in regard to the " sinews of war." Labour,
as usual, brought its manifold troubles.
Railway expansion was active in the
United States, where high pay was to be
earned, so that Canada held out no tempting
inducements. The majority of the graders

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY

regarded work upon the Canadian enter-
prise in the light of a holiday, or a timely
change of air and scenery. Many of the
graders I know divided their time between
the Canadian Pacific, Northern Pacific, and
other American lines ; they could not be
tempted to stay upon one job more than a
month or two on end.

The builders were forced to realise the
magnitude of their task in the first stretch
between Montreal and Port Arthur.
Southern Ontario may be best described
as a jumble of jagged mountains, rambling
muskeg, water, and dense tangled forest.
The location ran through the wildest
stretches of all these physical conditions.
A maximum gradient of 52'8 feet per
mile and a maximum curvature of 6
degrees — 955 feet radius — were laid down,
and at times it was found difficult to keep
within these restrictions. Between Mon-
treal and Lake Superior the railway has

to climb to an altitude of 950 feet above
the level of the lake. The bleak, frowning,
cliff-hemmed shore of this inland sea is
picked up at Heron Bay, and hugged thence
to Nepigon, a distance of 66 miles.

The surveyors were forced to take to the
shore of the lake, and as a result a gallery
had to be blasted out of the sombre granite,
mica, schist, and black trap, a few feet
above the water level, driving through the
projecting lofty promontories and crossing
the little bays, some of which were filled
with the dislodged rock from the cuts and
tunnels, while others were bridged. The
rock was dense and put up a stern resistance :
nothing but black powder and dynamite
could cope with it. Under these circum-
stances it is not surprising that a mere
stretch of 200 miles through Southern
Ontario cost about £2,500,000, while at
one or two places the cost ran as high as
£140,000 per mile.

A LIBRARY-OBSERVATION CAR ON THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY

CLEARING A SNOW-DRIFT ON
Heroic efforts are required during the winter to keep the line open for traffic. The rotary plough is

Photograph ly permission of J.

rmiSiion of J. P. torj,, £1,.. lot, LHtuuir-iii-ckW. fountain Divisi™ o/ tlu C.P.K.

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

driven into the obstacle, which is thrown in a fountain high into the air, to fall some 60 feet to one side.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The region of Lake Superior has been
described as the coldest and bleakest
part of Canada, and the graders who had
heard of this unsavoury reputation had
occasion to remember that for once rumour
did not lie. In fact, many of them, after
the experience of a week or two, threw
down their tools and departed to seek
work in a more congenial clime. Camp
comforts in those days were unknown, the
commissariat was not so abundant or
varied as the canning factories have made
it to-day. The food in the winter was
despairingly monotonous, and truly back-
woods in character. " Mush " — oatmeal —
pork and beans, bannock, and other con-
crete-like dainties formed the staple articles
upon the menu, washed down with black
tea, coarse coffee, and muddy cocoa without
milk.

The sprawling muskegs of Southern

Ontario were just as teasing and maddening

as the hard rock. Every

T/1® . possible device for subjugating

Maddening

Muskegs. the bog was tried and found

wanting. One muskeg, in
particular, nearly drove the graders and
engineers frantic. It swallowed rock and
spoil by the thousands of tons, and timber
corduroy by the hundreds of feet. Yet the
embankment refused to become permanent.
At last the engineers did succeed in getting
a road ; then the railway operators were
given a taste of the bog's treachery and
fickleness. It was just as if the permanent
way had been laid upon a bank of resilient
indiarubber. As the train passed over the

road-bed it rose and fell in a series of
little waves, while the rails themselves
crept in all directions. A movement of
26 inches under a passing train was by
no means uncommon. The gangers were
driven almost to frenzy in their efforts to
keep the metals to gauge. The bolts
holding the fishplates snapped like matches.
Every day fresh bolts were wanted some-
where or other within the worst section of
a mile and a quarter, while surfacing and
lining had to be carried out once a week.
It was only by unremitting vigilance that
derailments were prevented, until the
engineer at last discovered a means of
holding the metals in position by laying
them on sleepers 40 feet in length, and
connecting them with fish-plates 40 inches
long, with slots cut in either rail at alternate
sleepers.

From Port Arthur the line was driven
through the heavily timbered and water-
broken country of Western Ontario to
Winnipeg. As this section of the journey
was certain to be the most heavily taxed,
from the traffic point of view, inasmuch
as the whole of the grain and other produce
would be conveyed from Winnipeg, the
clearing house, to Eastern ports and the
Great Lakes, special attention was devoted
to the gradient and the substantial char-
acter of the permanent way, so that the
line might not break down under the
heavy traffic imposed.

[In a subsequent chapter the course of
the railway through the mountains is dealt
with.]

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THE AFTERNOON " SOUTHERN BELLE " EN ROUTE TO BRIGHTON.
Five-coach train drawn by 4-4-2 tank engine No. 28.

Two Famous Sixty-Minute "Flyers"

THE LONDON TO BRIGHTON " SOUTHERN BELLE RUN COMPARED WITH THAT
OF THE FAMOUS ATLANTIC CITY AND PHILADELPHIA EXPRESS

HILE comparisons between train
speeds attained in various
countries invariably are inter-
esting, as a rule it is almost
impossible to discuss them
fairly, owing to the difficulty
of reducing the performances
to a common basis. So many factors
affect the situation, such as gradients,
curvature, condition of the track, junctions,
carrying capacity and weight of the trains,
character of the service, and distance.
But there is one very interesting parallel

affording comparisons to be drawn, seeing
that the conditions are approximately
equal. Both trains are scheduled to cover
a similar distance in sixty minutes ; the
composition and weight of the trains are
about the same ; the permanent ways are
alike and of the give-and-take order ; both
are non-stops ; and both run from point
to point in each direction. The one is
in England, the other is in the United
States ; each is the crack train of its class
in its respective country.

The English train is the " Southern

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Belle," running between London and
Brighton, which has earned justly the
distinction of being the finest and most
luxurious " sixty-minute flyer " in the
United Kingdom. This train was inau-
gurated as the " Sunday Pullman Limited,"
to cover the 50 \ miles between Victoria and
Brighton within the hour, in October, 1899.
It proved an instant success, and although
confined to Sundays, was always taxed to
its utmost seating capacity. When certain
widening and other improvements upon the
line had been completed, the once-a-week
flyer was converted into an everyday train,
under the name of the " Southern Belle,"
the Pullman Company, Limited, taking the
opportunity to introduce a train which,
in point of palatial appointment and
comfort, exceeded anything previously seen
in these islands. The punctuality of this
express constitutes one of the most striking
features of the London, Brighton and South

THE BUFFET CAR ' GROSVENOR " ON THE

" SOUTHERN BELLE."

Luxurious appointment is the feature of this train
this car is furnished in the Adam style.

Coast Railway's long distance traffic, and
very justly it has become known as the
" clock-train."

Its composition varies from five to seven
Pullman coaches, according to the exigencies
of the traffic. Each car measures 63 feet
10 inches in length, by 8 feet 8| inches in
width, with a height of 13 feet 6 inches
from rail to roof, and weighs about 40 tons.
The full train has seating accommodation
for 219 persons, and complete with full
load represents a weight of about 280
tons.

The American train plies between Phila-
delphia and Atlantic City, which is to the
Quaker City what Brighton is to London,
only, whereas the English resort has an
all -the-year- round season, that of Atlantic
City is confined to the summer months,
although now it is coming into favour
likewise as a popular continuous residential
and health centre. From Philadelphia to
the sea is a distance of 56| miles,
but inasmuch as the terminal
station of the Philadelphia and
Reading Railroad is on the west
bank of the Delaware River, which
at this point is about a mile wide,
the first section of the journey
is by steam ferry across the water-
way to Camden, on the opposite
bank, Avhence the train starts. The
mileage is taken from Camden, from
which station Atlantic City is 55|
miles distant, but the timing is from
Philadelphia terminus. Ten minutes
are allowed for embarking on the
ferry, crossing the river, and trans-
ferring to the train, which therefore
is scheduled to cover the 55| miles
in 50 minutes — an average speed of
66-6 miles per hour.

In order to obtain a closer
parallel between the English and
American trains it would be neces-
sary to imagine the Thames a mile
wide, stretching from Victoria Station
to the south end of Grosvenor Bridge,

TWO FAMOUS SIXTY-MINUTE "FLYERS

and negotiated by ferry. But although wide, with a heating surface of 180
the latter is eliminated from the English square feet, bringing the total heating
conditions, there is a stiff bank on a sharp surface to 1,836 square feet. The grate
curve outside Victoria Station, rising at 1 area was 86 square feet, and steam was
in 50 for half a mile, which is against the maintained in the boiler at a pressure of 200
train starting from rest. pounds per square inch. The total weight

The composition of the American train is imposed upon the drivers was about 35 tons,
closely analogous to the " Southern Belle." The tender, mounted on two four-wheeled

bogies, carried some 3,300 gallons of water.

The driver's cab was placed in front of the

fire-box, and mounted saddlewise on the

top of the boiler.

The story of the evolution of this engine

is somewhat interesting. The Philadelphia

As a rule it comprises six coaches of the
Pullman pattern — a seventh is attached
when the traffic is heavy — and the total
weight hauled is about 280 tons loaded,
exclusive of the engine.

The Atlantic City flyer was introduced
in the summer season of 1896, and it
aroused intense world-wide interest from
its first appearance, owing to the high
travelling speeds placed on record. On

and Reading Railroad built a 10-wheel
engine comprising a four-wheeled leading
bogie, and six coupled drivers. The com-
pany, however, desired an engine capable

August 5th, 1898, it covered the 55| miles of sustaining its horse-power at high speeds,

with six coaches and 285 passengers in
44f minutes, at an average speed of 74-4
miles per hour, the total load on this
occasion, both engine and coaches, repre-
senting over 330 tons.

The speed was so high, and main-
tained so consistently day after day
in each direction, that interest became
centred in the engine. This was of
a new class able to fulfil the speed
conditions the company desired. It
was of the 4-4-2 type, there being
a leading four-wheeled bogie, four
coupled driving wheels, and a trailing
bogie under the fire-box. The drivers
had a diameter of 84 -} inches ; the
driving wheel base was 1\ feet ; while
the total wheel base was 26 feet 7 in-
ches. Compound working was adopted,
the high pressure cylinders having a
diameter of 13 inches, and the low
pressure cylinders a diameter of 22
inches, with a common stroke of 20
inches. The boiler was 58f inches in
diameter, carrying 278 tubes, each 13
feet in length by If inches diameter,
and having a heating surface of 1,656
square feet. The fire-box measured
113| inches in length by 96 inches
13

so the rear pair of driving wheels .were
changed to trailers, to obtain a deeper and
longer fire-box than was possible with the
six driving wheel arrangement. In this

THE DRAWING ROOM CAR "CLEOPATRA" ON THE
" SOUTHERN BELLE."

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

AJ.I3 OIXNVIiV,

manner an increase in steaming
power, so as to be able to haul
heavy passenger trains at high
speed, was secured. In this
converted engine the trailing
wheels were not provided with a
truck, but were placed simply
in pedestals and set in approxi-
mately the same place occupied ^
by the removed pair of driving |
wheels. The experimental engine, |
proving highly successful in prac- ^
tice, became standardised for this
service.

The performances of this class
of engine becoming appreciated,
it has been adopted practically
throughout the world in a
modified form, but is universally
known as the " Atlantic," from
its first appearance in connection
with the Atlantic City flyer.
Other countries have not followed
the practice of placing the driver's ^
cab over the driving wheels and
forward of the fire-box, but have
relegated it to the usual position
at the rear of the engine. The
Philadelphia and Reading Com-
pany, however, has retained the
original design. The "Atlantic "
engine which hauls this fast
train to-day is identical with
that which appeared in 1896,
except that it is more powerful,
in accordance with the pro-
gressive spirit of the age.

So far as the British and
American roads are concerned
the last-named has the advan-
tage. The "Southern Belle"
has one or two stiff stretches

u >

of heavy banks ranging from 1 £j
in 56 up to 1 in 100, with curves ^1
of 660 feet radius. The most
handicapping feature are the junctions,
twelve of which have to be negotiated,
and these necessitate reduction in speed.

Although the Philadelphia and
Reading Railway is less troubled
in this latter respect it has its
own peculiar adverse influences
not experienced on the British
railway — level crossings. The
" Southern Belle " has to con-
: tend against congested suburban
traffic working between Victoria
~~ and Croydon, whereas its Amer-
5 ican rival is affected only slightly
s in this connection, and is able to

2 get well into its stride before the
first two miles out of Camden

\ are covered. Whereas the " South-
\ ern Belle " is called upon to make
i spurts of speed on good sections
5 of the road between busy junc-
u tions, and where 80 miles per
5 hour often are notched, the
Atlantic City flyer is able to
5 maintain a steady gait through-
: out the greater part of its flight.

The " Southern Belle " makes
5 the round trip between London
and Brighton twice a day
throughout the year. Its arrival
five minutes ahead of time is by

3 no means uncommon, while the
occasions on which it has been
half-a-minute late are very rare.

j Still, even under the most favour-
able conditions the speed achieved
u does not approach that of the
a Atlantic City flyer.

The fastest run placed on
3 record by this express was made
J on July 20th, 1904, when the
55^ miles down were reeled off
in 43 minutes dead, giving an
average speed of 77-4 miles per
hour. It may be pointed out
that, although the fastest runs
have been made on the out-
ward journejr, owing to the
grade falling steadily and almost con-
tinually towards the sea-coast from the
seventeenth mile-post out of Philadelphia,

N3QWV3

TWO FAMOUS SIXTY-MINUTE "FLYERS

yet the upward runs are equally brilliant, cation between home and business. This.
Nor have the highest speeds been attained train meets their convenience. On the up-

COMPOUND NO. 1027. ONE OF THE FIRST " ATLANTICS " WHICH HAULED THE

AMERICAN FLYER.

The drivers were 84} inches in diameter, and the complete weight of locomotive and

tender was 114i tons.

under conditions of light load, inasmuch
as on August 20th, 1898, the train of seven
Pullmans, carrying 505 passengers, left
Philadelphia 45 seconds late, but arrived at
Atlantic City 2| minutes ahead of schedule,
the actual running time being 46f minutes
with an average of 71-2 miles per hour.

Needless to say, this fine express is
patronised heavily by season ticket holders,
who, preferring to reside by the sea during
the summer, yet demand quick communi-

journey it leaves Atlantic City at 8.15 a.m.,
arriving at Philadelphia an hour later ;
on the return journey it leaves Phila-
delphia terminal at 4.0 p.m. (Camden at
4.10 p.m.), reaching Atlantic City at 5
o'clock.

Although the " Southern Belle " still
ranks as the crack train on the London,
Brighton and South Coast Railway, this
pride of place now is attributable rather to
luxury and comfort than highest speed,

THE FASTEST 60-MINUTE TRAIN IN THE WORLD.

The Atlantic City flyer, which covers the 55i miles between Camden (Philadelphia) and Atlantic
City in 50 minutes, hauled by type of "Atlantic" (4-4-2) locomotive.

IOO

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

seeing that one or two other trains cover
the journey in the hour dead. But taken
on the whole the running performances
over the 50| miles between London and
Brighton do not compare so favourably
with the train service offered over the 55£
miles between Atlantic City and Phila-
delphia (Camden Station). Of the twenty
daily up trains, two cover the distance in
54 minutes, two in 55 minutes, three in
60 minutes, and six in 63 minutes. On
the down journey, of the twenty trains one
takes 53 minutes, two 55 minutes, two
60 minutes, and eight 65 minutes. But
the hustling Philadelphian has become so
accustomed to fast travelling over this
system that he dubs the 65-minute ex-
presses with two stops a " slow train ! "
A contrast to these flyers is the " parlia-
mentary " train, stopping at all intermediate
stations, which occupies two hours on its
crawl from terminus to terminus.

Seeing that the " Atlantic " type oi
locomotive is utilised for the haulage of
these two famous expresses a compari-
son of the engines used on the London,
Brighton and South Coast and the Phila-
delphia and Reading Railways respectively
is interesting.

Cylinders diameter .
„ stroke

Driving wheels dia-
meter .

Boiler diameter

Heating surface,tubcs
„ „ fire-box

total

Superheater

Grate area

Boiler pressure

Weight on drivers .

Total weight of engine

Tender .

Complete weight of
engine and tender.

L.B. & S.C.R.
No. 422.
21 in.
26

p. &a.

No. 342.

22 in.
26 ,

791 „

86 „

66 „

1,346 sq. ft.

. . 2,996 sq. ft.

136

. . 274 „

1,482

. . 3,270

460

—

30-9

. . 94-5

170 Ib.

235 Ib.

38 tons

49* tons

93i „

71 J „

114 .,

165

Ell"

'ssittl r/L.B. &S.C.K.

THE NORTHERN ENTRANCE TO THE LOTSCHBERG TUNNEL AT KANDERSTEG.
Showing workmen's train and ventilating pumping-station=

The Lotschberg Tunnel

NINE MILES IN LENGTH, THIS GREAT BORING THROUGH THE ALPS WAS
COMPLETED IN RECORD TIME— 4J YEARS

HEN the French and Italian
nations announced their inten-
tion to burrow through the base
of the Col de Frejus in order
to provide shorter and quicker
railway communication be-
tween northern and southern
Europe, the preternaturally sage shook
their heads solemnly, said it was impossible,
and that all kinds and descriptions of
disasters, unknown to the engineer, lurked
in the mountain's heart. But the railway
builder was not distressed by the doleful

outlook. He went ahead and confounded
hostile criticism by completing the Mont
Cenis tunnel.

One country yiewed this achievement
with dismay. This was Switzerland.
Sandwiched between France and Italy,
the obvious route between these two
countries was through the tortuous passes
and valleys of the land of the Alps. Yet
here was the engineer deliberately turning
the traffic to one side. Swiss pride and
buoyant optimism were wounded. Their
country was pushed into a siding, to be

102

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

THE TEMPORARY TIMBER VIADUCT AND CONSTRUCTION TRAIN.

forgotten, except by those anxious to gaze
upon glacier and snow-crowned peak.

The prospect was somewhat depressing,
but energetic Swiss minds shook up their
countrymen and revived their spirits by
pointing out that if French and Italian
engineers could overcome the mountain
chain so completely, surely the Swiss Alps
could be pierced in a similar way.

The advocates of this forward move-
ment painted their pictures so rosily that
public opinion, like a pendulum, swung in
the opposite direction. An Alpine tunnel
fever broke out. Projects of all descrip-
tions were rushed before the Government.
Had every suggestion been adopted the
Alps would have been honeycombed through
and through, or the works have been left
as gruesome monuments of the " Great
Unpaid." While the public lost its head
the authorities retained a cool, calm de-
meanour. The schemes were investigated
closely ; one after another was thrown out

as hopelessly impracticable. From this
maelstrom of ideas one project was singled
out for distinction, and was finally carried
into execution, though not before it passed
through vicissitudes untold. This was the
Gotthard Tunnel, 9j miles in length, with
its communicating approach lines.

Once a Swiss mountain had been sub-
jugated successfully further schemes were
adumbrated, and as they had been drawn
up with greater care than those connected
with the first tunnel frenzy, they demanded
closer examination and more prolonged
debate. Among these was one for piercing
the Lotschberg between Kandersteg, in
the Bernese Oberland, and Goppenstein, in
Valais. It was an attractive proposition
from whatever point it was considered, and
although it had been mooted before the
Gotthard enterprise was discussed, it was
pigeonholed for further consideration at
an opportune moment.

For forty years the proposers of the

THE LOTSCHBERG TUNNEL

103

Bernese Alps Railway clung to their dream.
Although it was shattered first by the
Gotthard, and afterwards by the Simplon
tunnels, there was a general decision that
the third line through the Alps should be
under the Lotschberg, come what might.
In this struggle Jacob Stampfli, who in due
course became the first President of the
Swiss Republic, played a very prominent
part, and it was due to his grim pertina-
city, with the support of his friends, that
the scheme received official approbation in
1906.

The original project was torn to shreds
under animated discussion, and numerous
surveys were run in order to secure the
most favourable route. The problem turned
on the tunnel — its length and character.
One section advocated strongly a " level
tunnel " 13| miles in length, but this idea
was thrown out by the Grand Council of
Canton Berne. These discussions had been

protracted partly from financial considera-
tions. It was useless to sanction a scheme
if the sinews of war were not forthcoming.
At this juncture the Paris banking
house of Loste and Company stepped in,
and offered to build a single track tunnel
through the chain according to the accepted
plans for 37,000,000 francs, as well as
completing the approaches at each end,
providing telegraphic and signalling systems
and equipment for the whole of the line from
Frutigen to Brigue for a further 37,000,000
francs. Thus the total cost of the under-
taking was to be 74,000,000 francs, roughly
£3,000,000. To this sum the Canton of
Berne agreed to subscribe 21,000,000 francs,
or nearly a million sterling. The total cost,
however, became inflated subsequently to
over £4,000,000, owing to the authorities
deciding to have a double-track tunnel,
and to unforeseen disasters which occurred
during the work. Standard gauge, of

A BORING GANG WITH A MEYER DRILL IN THE HEADING.
The chief engineer of the tunnel is on the right of the group.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

course, was adopted to permit through
working with neighbouring systems, and
at the same time the momentous decision
was made to operate the line by electricity
from its completion. The financial situa-
tion adjusted, the constructional company
was founded, the contractors comprising
Messrs. Allard, Chagnaud, Coiseau, Couv-
reux, Dollfus, Duparchy, Prudhomme and
Wiriot. On October 1st, 1906, the agitation
of forty years culminated in the signing of
the contract for construction.

According to the terms of the compact
the attack upon each side of the mountain
chain was to be commenced
by March 1st, 1907. Thus

Hurried
Preparations.

only five months were avail-
able for the elaborate preparations to be
completed, and the country was among the
wildest to be found in Switzerland ! The
railway ran as far as Frutigen, this section
connecting with Spiez having been com-
pleted in 1901, while Brigue, on the Simplon
line, was the southern terminus. From
these two railway centres the contractors
had to make their way to the tunnel
faces over the winding and climbing
mountain roads.

The first step was the establishment of
the necessary temporary towns to accom-
modate the workmen on
Temporary the flanks of th mountain
Towns Built.

knot, the erection of depots,

workshops, power-houses, etc. Convenient
torrents near the respective portals were
harnessed for the generation of electric
current for a thousand and one purposes.
On the north side these headquarters were
founded at Kanderstcg, while on the south
side Goppenstein, in the Lotschen Valley,
became a similar busy centre. A temporary
narrow gauge railway had to be laid down
from the trunk roads to the tunnel portals
for the haulage of the material, both for
the works and the workmen. This in itself
was a heavy and difficult undertaking,
involving the spanning of yawning ravines
by timber viaducts, heavy side-hill ex-

cavation on sheer precipices, small tunnels,
wooden bridges across wild torrents, the
erection of massive timber supports to
carry the track round blunt spurs, and the
fashioning of loops in order to overcome
abrupt differences in level.

This work was full of adventure. Time
after time the men had to be lowered
on flimsy stages anchored by
ropes fixed to iron pegs driven
into the rock face, and there,
swinging perilously in mid air, they j
were forced to drive their drills for the
charges of explosives whereby a gallery
was blasted out of the rock face. In fact, ;
the men who built the construction line
performed feats as startling, and experienced
sensations quite as thrilling, as any en-
countered in driving the great bore through
the peak, especially as the work was pressed
forward with feverish energy.

While the completion of this light railway
facilitated and expedited the hurrying of
material to the unnel portals, it was not
able to handle everything that was required.
Some of the component parts of the
machinery were too bulky to pass through
the low tunnels, and they had to be dis-
patched to the site over the high roads.
The ventilating blowers for the tunnel, for
instance, had to be slung upon specially
fashioned four-wheeled trucks, and hauled
over the mountain path, with its sharp hair-
pin bends and stiff rises, by means of a
dozen horses tended by as many men.

While the undertaking was Swiss in
character, only the engineers were of this
nationality. The workmen
were- drawn from sunny Italy,

The Italian
Navvy.

and when the task was in
full swing as many as 4,000 Italians
found employment. The Italians are
adept rock-hogs, as such tunnel works as
the Cenis, Gotthard, and Simplon had
proved only too well. Although their
victualling requirements are small and
somewhat monotonous in character, they
appear to be suited to the gruelling task

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RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

of working ponderous drills in a cramped,
depressing atmosphere, while they are
highly skilled in blasting, and hard workers.
This is one reason why the Italian railway
navvy is in keen demand the whole world
over, and why he is to be found toiling in
the rock and earth, wherever the climate
is not too wet or too cold.

The completion of the preliminary pre-
parations occupied 28 days, so that the
contractors commenced their

Four Months attack on the mountain faces
(J amed.

four months in advance of

the contracted time. As events proved,
these four months in hand were a boon,
and gave them a bit of lee-way, seeing that
they were working against a time limit. By
the spring of 1907 there were two new
humming towns in Switzerland — Kander-
steg and Goppenstein — peopled by the
Italians who had nocked thither with their
wives and families.

The plans called for the construction of

33 miles of railway between Frutigen and

Brigue, of which the tunnel

Measurements itself represented 8-J miles.
and Gradients ,.,, , ,

of the Tunnel. The Sreat borc was to be
perfectly straight, rising from

3,935 feet above the sea at the Kandersteg
entrance with a grade of 1 in 443 to a summit
level of 4,594 feet, which is reached about 3J
miles from the northern portal, and then
falling 1 in 263 to Goppenstein. Subse-
quently a revision of the location had to
be made owing to the development of the
unexpected. The tunnel is of the ordinary
arched section with a maximum width of
26 feet 3 inches, a height of 19 feet 8 inches
from rail level to the centre of the roof, and
is lined throughout with masonry 18 inches
in thickness. Water is carried off by a drain
2 feet square, laid in the centre of the tunnel.
The attack on the rock was commenced
with hand labour, but directly the main
body of the mountain was reached manual
effort gave way to mechanical drills driven
by compressed air. The tunnel borers were
able to profit from the experience gained

in connection with the previous Alpine
tunnels in regard to tools and methods.
Several types of drills were employed in
the headings, but the Meyer and the
Ingcrsoll gave the best results. The drills,
of the rotary type, were mounted on a
wheeled carriage, having a wheel base of
6 feet, and in such a manner as to have
both a vertical and horizontal swing.
They were of large size, the piston having
a diameter of 8| inches.

As usual, the tunnel was driven from two
headings. The lower, along the floor level,
in advance of the top head-
ing, which was excavated to the How the

.. „,, ., , . Tunnel was

roof. I he spoil as brought 0rjven

down by the blasts was dumped
from the upper level through uptakes into
the ballast trucks below. This line was of
narrow gauge, and served for all transport
purposes, being hauled in the tunnel by
compressed air locomotives, and in the
open air by small steam engines. As the
forces driving the two headings advanced,
other gangs followed, excavating the tunnel
to its full section, commencing from the
roof on either side of the top heading and
working towards the floor. As the rock
was removed the roof was timbered up to
protect the men from falling rock dis-
lodged by the firing of the blasts forward.
Hard on the heels of the drillers and
excavators came the gangs entrusted with
the lining operation.

Every big tunnel has brought its peculiar
difficulties of a technical nature, tales of
disaster, and loss of life.
The Lotschberg was no ex-
ception to this rule. Most
elaborate surveys had been made, and in-
vestigations carried out, to determine the
geological formation of the mountain knot
which was to be pierced. The experts
stated that once the calcareous formation
of the Fisistock was entered the bore would
extend through hard solid rock. But here,
as in other instances, scientific theories
went agley sadly.

THE LOTSGHBERG TUNNEL

107

The drillers were hard at work on the
rock-face on the northern side, 600 feet
below the floor of the Gastern Valley. It
was 2.30 in the morning of July 24th.
The drills had been withdrawn and wheeled
back, the dynamite charges had been

heading. There were twenty-six Italians
in the gang, and they rushed to their doom,
for they were overwhelmed in the river of
earth, gravel, boulders and water. Only
one succeeded in effecting his escape. In
less than ten minutes 250,800 cubic feet

HOW A BIG TUNNEL IS BUILT.

Showing the excavation of the Lotschberg to its full dimensions ready for lining and the timber

shoring to support roof.

inserted and tamped home, while the men
had withdrawn down the shaft beyond the
reach of the concussion.

The dull, sullen roar reverberated down
the tunnel, as it had done so often before,
and the wave of wind created by the .
explosion swept down and extinguished
the workers' acetylene lamps as usual.
The men paused a second or two, and then
in the ordinary way rushed towards the
heading in the darkness. But the blast
had brought down more than the estimated
quantity of rock. It had let in the treach-
erous Gastern Valley, and a wall of glacial
debris and mud came pouring down the

had poured into the tunnel, blocking it up
for 1,731 yards, and not stopping in its
rush until it had reached a point 1,209
yards from the Kandersteg portal.

Work was brought to a standstill on the
north side of the mountain. No one had
considered it possible for the bed of the
glacial valley overhead to extend to such
a depth. As soon as possible an investi-
gation was made, and huge fissures were
discovered in the roof of the bore, where the
loose spoil had burst into the tunnel. At
the same time examinations were carried
out in the valley, outside shafts being sunk
into the bed of the ravine. Then it was

io8

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

CHARGING A COMPRESSED-AIR ENGINE AT KANDERSTEG.

found that the glacial spoil stretched right
down to within a few feet of the tunnel roof.
Evidently this thin sheathing of solid rock
had been shivered by the blast, and had
let in the floor of the valley.

What was to be done ? In this instance
the unexpected had overwhelmed the enter-
prise with a vengeance. Various means of
coping with the difficulty were suggested,
but one and all were discarded as im-
practicable, either on technical grounds or
from motives of cost. One solution was to
drive forward with a shield and under com-
pressed air build up a solid lining with the
advance, as in the case of the tubes driven
under the Thames. Another was to apply
the freezing method, as has been carried
out in sinking coal shafts through strata
of treacherous sand, the ground for some
distance around the site of the work being
frozen solid while excavation is in pro-
gress. The contractors on their part sug-
gested that a curve should be introduced

to compass the treacherous area. The
advocates of the straight tunnel, however,
opposed this solution, and so work was
held up while ways and means of over-
coming the obstacle were discussed. This
occupied valuable time. Meanwhile certain
affected interests maintained that the con-
tractors should clear out the tunnel and
get over the difficulty as best they could
and at their own risk, urging that as they
had accepted the contract they must
tolerate all such unforeseen circumstances.
The contractors, however, sat tightly, and
refused resolutely to do anything of the
kind.

The months slipped by without any
tangible solution of the problem being
presented, and then the contractors were
faced with another problem. A small
army of men were condemned to idleness,
and were eating their heads off at Kander-
steg. The builders came to the conclusion
that they must dismiss this colony, as

THE LOTSCHBERG TUNNEL

109

the delay appeared to be indefinite in its
duration. This decision hurried matters,
and the alternative advanced by the con-
tractors for the introduction of a detour
was accepted, the money to be paid for
such deviation being left for decision by a
court of arbitration.

The curve is introduced at a point 1,320
yards from the tunnel entrance. Thence-
forward 2,940 yards of the old line, and
the work accomplished, were abandoned.
A heavy masonry wall was thrown up to
seal the old heading where the curve com-
mences. The introduction of the detour
lengthened the tunnel by 880 yards, so
that its total length was increased to
16,050 yards — over nine miles, and only
430 yards less than the Gotthard tunnel.

The men laboured unceasingly in shifts
throughout the whole twenty-four hours,
and for seven days a week. Each shift

was of eight hours, and each gang was able
to average two rounds of drilling and two
shots per shift. In this way the tunnel
advanced from 6 to 7 feet per shift, or
about 18 to 21 feet per day. Every in-
ducement was held out to the drillers to
spare no effort. Above a certain advance
per shift a liberal bonus was given, and
many an expert Italian workman was able
to earn eight or more shillings per shift as
a reward for his toil.

The army advancing from the south side,
although spared the peril of roof collapse
and inundation, encountered their own
troubles and difficulties. Water and hot
rock harassed them within the shaft, and
the avalanches created consternation out-
side. The stretch of hot rock proved very
exhausting to the drillers, although the
temperature, 90 degrees, did not approach
that encountered in boring the Simplon.

A SECTION OF THE COMPLETED TUNNEL SHOWING LINING.
A compressed-air locomotive and train are seen on the tracks of the narrow gauge builders' railway.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The water was a more serious hindrance,
as the subterranean springs, when tapped,
poured into the tunnel with dismaying
force and volume, so that the excavators
often were compelled to labour in a murky
stream, immersed to their knees, and at
times almost up to their thighs. Still,
inasmuch as water is a problem which has
to be expected in such works, arrangements
were prepared in anticipation, so that the
hardship was reduced as much as possible
immediately the danger developed, while
the men on their part worked harder so
as to get beyond the uncomfortable zone
with all speed.

The avalanche, however, was quite a

different peril to combat. The Alps around

the Goppenstein portal are im-

T . pressively wild and awe-inspir-

Avalanche

Peril. ing, the mountain slopes drop-

ping precipitously into the
Lotschen Valley. The snow, receiving a good
start high above, gathered terrific impetus,
and, rushing down the flank, hit the contrac-
tors' railway with fiendish fury, to bounce
into the Lonza torrent below. Time after
time the snow was found piled up to a
height of 80 feet at the tunnel entrance.

But the worst calamity happened on
the night of February 29th, 1908. In the
canteen a party, including visitors to the
works, were at supper. Suddenly there
was a roar and a rush of air. An immense
avalanche dropped in the heart of the little
town. The hostelry was smashed, parts
of it being hurled into the Lonza torrent,
and of the thirty people dining a dozen
were killed. The tunnel mouth was com-
pletely blocked by the snow and debris,
while the post office, the gendarmes'
station, and other buildings, belonging to
the builders, were damaged severely.

The contractors immediately devised
ways and means of combating this destruc-
tive visitor. High up on the

Fighting the mountain side, immediately
Avalanche.

above the tunnel entrances,

massive masonry walls, termed " faldums,"

have been planted. These embankments
are planted one behind the other, down
the tracks frequented by the snowslides, so
that the avalanche becomes broken up and
rendered impotent. The faldums practic-
ally accomplish the same end as the split
fences planted above the Canadian Pacific
upon the flanks of the Selkirks, only, in
addition to deflecting the movement of the
snow, they break it up, so that the avalanche
is thrown in all directions, but clear of the
railway tunnel entrance. The stretch of
line immediately outside the Goppenstein
tunnel mouth is exposed fully to the
avalanche, and here the contractors planned
an ingenious defence. Parallel with the
railway on the mountain-side, a massive
wall 30 feet in height, and some 8 feet in
thickness at the base, has been built.
Behind this wall the mountain side has
been scooped out, so as to form a curved
trench. The avalanche sweeping down
the mountain-side dives into this hollow,
and, under the impetus it has attained,
flies up the opposite curved wall into the
air to describe a big sweep clear of the
line into the gorge below.

The scene in the tunnel was thrilling in
its weirdness. A gang of miners stripped
to the waist, and wading knee-
deep in the murky water, their How the
IT • u • i ii t Work was

bodies gleaming brightly from Done.

perspiration and water drip-
ping from the roof, worked like slaves,
handling the huge drills and throwing the
spoil into the trucks of the ballast train
shunted up close by. Hanging from
friendly projections or placed on convenient
ledges were the acetylene hand lamps
belonging to the workmen, each man being
expected to purchase his illuminating device
and to keep it in repair. The white light
from these lamps mingling with the dust
and smoke-laden atmosphere gave the
scene a ghostly touch which was thrown
into stronger relief by the Cimmerian
darkness in the bore behind. Scarcely a
word was spoken, the intense silence being

THE LOTSCHBERG TUNNEL

The Critical
Moment.

broken only by the ceaseless chugging of
the drills.

Presently the drills had eaten their
way to their utmost limit into the rock
face. The carriage was drawn back,
cartridges inserted into the perforations,
tamped home, and fuses connected up.
Then the drill carriage was backed down
its track a few feet, while immedi-
ately over the rails was laid a heavy
steel plate some 8 feet in length by 4 feet
wide. There was a sharp order. Every
man, picking up his acetylene lamp, re-
treated to a point down the bore. There
was a final warning to make sure that every
man was out of harm's way, and then the
fuses were lighted.

Intense silence reigned for a few seconds.
Then came a smothered, long-drawn-out
roar as cartridge after cartridge
was fired, a splitting and a
rending as the rock was torn
in all directions by the expanding force
of the gases of the explosive. As the roar
travelled down the bore it was followed by
a hurricane gust of wind, which extinguished
the lamps. The sudden transition from
glimmering light to inky darkness was
unnerving. Ere the detonations had died
away there came a fiendish clatter, as if
the roof of the tunnel were coming in.
The atmosphere was charged with suffocat-
ing fumes of the fired explosive, and the
dust torn out by the explosion. Breathing
was difficult, and the men coughed, splut-
tered, sneezed, and panted in the effort
to clear their lungs, until, the ventilating
fans getting the upper hand, the air was
cleared. One after another shafts of light
shot out through the fog, as the men re-
lighted their lamps, and then there was a
rush to the rock face, the men swarming
over a dishevelled heap of jagged and
splintered boulders. The leading toilers
set to work feverishly clearing away the
debris piled up on the heavy steel plate,
which was removed, and the drill carriage
pushed forward so that the cutting edges

found purchase upon a fresh face of rock.
The clearing gang tossed the shattered muck
into the waiting ballast wagons, and in a
short while the area in front of the drill
carriage was quite clear. The loaded train
backed down the tunnel into the open
air with a load representing some 3 feet
advance through the mountain heart, to
dump it farther down the line, either for
an embankment, or to spill over the torrent
bank near the tunnel mouth.

Early in 1911, when the men working on
the Kandcrsteg headings had paused to fire
the shots they heard a very

faint throb, throb, throb— The Pacing

of the
the explosions ot the shots Mountain.

on the south side. The en-
gineers computed that the miners were work-
ing on the last thousand feet of rock. Every
day the sounds of the opposing blasts grew
louder and louder. The end came on March
31st, 1911. At midnight, scarcely 4 feet of
wall remained between the two parties.

The actual breach was detected by a
miner on the Goppenstcin side, who sent
his drill into a hole only to notice that it
failed to bite ; it was through. Excitedly
he withdrew the drill and broke out into
frenzied cheering. His comrades, realising
the import of his vivas, became infected
with his enthusiasm, and huzzas rang
down the bore towards Goppcnstein, to be
taken up a few seconds later by those on
the Kandcrsteg side.

The remaining drill holes were driven
quickly and excitedly, the last charges
were tamped home, and the men on each
side of the remaining veil of rock backed
away. With a cheer the blast was fired at
3.50 a.m., and ere the detonation and
crash of falling stone had died down, M.
Moro, the chief engineer on the south side,
because his party had discovered the final
penetration and had brought down the last
thickness of rock, crawled through the hole
to greet his colleague on the other side.
The toil of 4£ years was completed ; the
Lotschberg was penetrated.

112

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Driving a tunnel 9 miles in length in 4|
years set up an achievement of which the
Swiss are justly proud. It was additionally
remarkable because of the delay of 200
days which arose from the irruption of the
Gastern Valley, and the necessity to make
a sweep to avoid this treacherous spot.

While the great tunnel constitutes the
outstanding feature of the railway link
between Frutigcn and Brigue, the remaining
sections of the line possess many striking
examples of engineering. On the northern
side there is the Mittholz loop, where the
railway describes two big spiral turns,
owing to the railway having to overcome
an altitude of 1,385 feet in 7'8 miles.
One loop is in the open while the other
is in a corkscrew tunnel 1,830 yards long.
There is also some daring bridge and
viaduct work along the line, while between

Goppenstein and Brigue no fewer than
thirty-seven small tunnels had to be bored.
The Lotschberg tunnel offers a short
cut between London and Italian ports.
Formerly the detour by way of Lausanne
and the Rhone Valley was necessary to
reach Brigue and the Simplon tunnel.
The new direct route runs by way of Spiez
and Thun, where the Bernese Alps Railway
commences, the distance therefrom to
Brigue being 48'48 miles. It will affect
materially also the vast volume of com-
merce flowing between Northern France,
Germany and Italy. The whole of the
traffic over this connecting link is to be
moved electrically, for which purpose fine
electric locomotives, some of the most
powerful in the world, have been built.
These are described in a subsequent
chapter.

WALLS BUILT ON THE MOUNTAIN SLOPES TO PROTECT THE TUNNEL-ENTRANCES

FROM AVALANCHES.

Pitotegrafh by permission of Grand Trunk Railway.

THE CAR FERRY OXTARIO AT FULL SPEED ON HER 56 MILES' JOURNEY ACROSS

LAKE ONTARIO.

Floating Railways— I

THE ENORMOUS FERRIES IN WHICH TRAINS ARE TRANSPORTED ACROSS GREAT
WATERWAYS IN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES

HERE is one phase of railway
working which is foreign to
Great Britain. This is the
train ferry. In these islands
the interruptions of water, such
as the estuaries of rivers, when
they dispute the advance of
the railway-builder, either are tunnelled or
bridged. But there are some stretches of
water which cannot be overcome in this
manner. Thus, for instance, the Hudson
River for many years proved an insur-
mountable barrier to through communica-
tion between the City of New York and
the New Jersey shore. Only one railway
ran direct into the heart of the city — the
New York Central. Attempts to solve the
difficulty were made many years ago by
driving a " tube " beneath the river, but
they were attended with disaster, and it

15 113

was not until comparatively recently that
the feat was achieved.

Meantime, the rapid growth of trade had
prompted inventive ingenuity to discover
another practicable way of surmounting the
hindrance. The great lines which radiate
to all parts of the country, in a natural
desire to get into touch with the Empire
City, have brought their lines to the water's
edge on the New Jersey shore. At these
points passengers change to a ferry, to be
transported direct across the river. With
merchandise, however, such a system was
quite impracticable. The goods could not
be unloaded on the New Jersey shore into
barges, transferred to the opposite bank,
and there handled once more : this prac-
tice would be slow and increase transport
charges. Accordingly, it was decided to
convey the trucks intact across the river.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

These water-carriers are blunt-ended,
dumb craft, euphemistically called " floats."
Two sets of metals are laid on the deck
with a narrow platform between, the float
bsirig of sufficient length to accommodate
six large American box cars on each track.
At the landing yard, the float is brought
endwise against the land tracks, so that
the metals are dead true with the rails
running to the water's edge. If there is
any difference in level it is met by a
" bridge," or heavy flap, hinged at one
end. The cars are pushed over this bridge"
on to the float, and made fast by scotching
the wheels. When loaded, a signal is given,
a powerful tug fusses up, lashes itself to
one side of the float, and bears it across
the waterway to the opposite yard, where
the cars are pushed on to dry land once
more over another bridge. The tugs are
powerful vessels of their class, and if neces-
sary can handle two laden floats at a
time, thus transporting twenty-four loaded
vehicles in one trip.

From the British point of view, this

seems a round-about method of handling

the goods traffic, but in New

What the York it has proved highly
Ferries & J

Accomplish, successful. So much so that

10,000 trucks are whisked to
and fro every twenty-four hours. Over
2,000 floats are engaged in this service, and
thzir handling gives employment to an
army of 6,000 men. Although tunnels have
b;en laid beneath the river, no appreciable
diminution of this curious water traffic has
resulted. It is easier and quicker to con-
vey the cars in this manner than to send
them through a constricted bottle-like
passage.

With this fleet of floats dodging to and

fro the stretch of Hudson River washing

Manhattan Island is a bustling

Thf ""dson scene of activity throughout
in Winter.

the twenty-four hours. Dur-
ing the summer the traffic is controlled
with tolerable ease, but winter tells a
different story. When the Hudson River

is choked with ice floes, buffeted to and
fro by the tides, currents and winds, cling-
ing round the ends of the piers, and litter-
ing the docks where the floats berth, the
marine railways have a trying time. They
make their way back and forth from sheer
strength and weight. Nothing but steel
could withstand the heavy poundings to
which the floats are subjected. A dock
may be half-filled with ice, but the float
Avith its heavy load comes banging in,
smashing its way through the obstruction,
shivering it to small splinters which are
sent flying in all directions, or else are
piled up at the shore-end in a huge heap.
Such a trifle as blocks of ice capable of
bearing the weight of a man, and piled up
by the elements, cannot be allowed to in-
terfere with the scheduled running of the
floats. When they have a good swing on
them, these bluff -ended craft strike an
obstacle with the force of a gigantic
battering ram. There may be a temporary
shock and shiver, the trucks on deck may
grunt and clatter, but the float goes
forward.

When the heavy winds which occasion-
ally sweep up the Hudson estuary rage,
the floats do not stop. The
going is harder, that is all, but
this handicap can be overcome
by lashing two or even three of the power-
ful tugs to a load, to drive against
Old Boreas. Even fog, which generally
disorganises locomotion, has little effect
upon this traffic. The vessels plough their
way through the white blanket, whistling
and shrieking for all they are worth, with
the skipper of the tug keeping a sharp eye
and ear on everything around him. When
New York is gripped by the fog fiend,
Bedlam is let loose. It is a discordant din :
bells, sirens, whistles, fog-horns, and what-
not are jumbled inharmoniously to pro-
duce an ear-splitting racket which would
not be tolerated in any other country but
the United States. The New Yorker tells
you that his city is a business, not a resi-

FLOATING RAILWAYS

dential centre, and so the noise does not
count for much. Dollars can be made just
as easily to an unmusical accompaniment.
The din cannot be quelled, since the floats
run on a time-table, similar to that of a
train, and if more time than that allotted

ing firm, Wigham-Richardson and Company,
on the Tyne, built a steam railway train
ferry, the Ruhr, to carry railway vehicles
across the Rhine before the bridge was
built. That was way back in 1864. Seven
years later, the idea having proved so

THE DETROIT RIVER TRAIN FERRY LASSDOWNE.
This boat can carry a train of eight cars each measuring 72 feet long.

is consumed in the journey — well, some^
body suffers, and the captain of the tug
is resolved not to be the scapegoat if noise
can help him.

Whose ingenious mind first conceived the
idea of carrying trains intact across inter-
vening wide stretches of water is not
recorded. Certainly the idea originated
in Britain, was transported, adopted, and
developed in America, and since has reached
its highest development in Europe and
Asia. At all events an English shipbuild-

successful, the Danish Government acquired
a similar vessel, the Lillebelt, from the same
builders, which is in service to this day.
She is 140 feet long, by 26 feet wide, dis-
places 390 tons, is fitted with engines
developing 85 nominal horse-power, and
has a maximum speed of nine knots per
hour.

The issue was forced upon the United
States when the railway expansion west-
wards and southwards ensued. But unfor-
tunately the strategical points, which were

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

certain to develop into great railway centres,
are" cut off on one side by wide sheets of
water. San Francisco is situate at the
extreme tip of the spit of land forming the
western arm of the bay. Immediately

The present San Francisco ferries are
some of the finest of their class in opera-
tion. The west-bound trains crawl on to
the ferry at the water's edge at Oakland.
The craft, when its load is made fast, casts

THE TRAIN DECK OF THE HURON. WHICH PLIES ACROSS THE DETROIT RIVER BETWEEN

WINDSOR AND DETROIT.

It can carry 16 freight cars each 36 feet long.

opposite, on the mainland, is Oakland. The
trains from the east came to a dead stop
at this point — but Oakland is not the port.
The railways could not make the long
detour to compass the inlet, so ferries were
adopted between the two points. It is a
strange circumstance that the opposite
ports on the Continent should be isolated
from direct railway communication in this
manner, and that San Francisco, like New
York, should have only one line, approach-
ing from the south, which traverses the
spit of land, and thus enters the port over
a dry-land highway.

off, steams across the bay, and comes to
rest against the ends of the track on the
opposite bank. The train then creeps
ashore and rumbles into San Francisco
station. Some of the San Francisco ferries
are of huge size, capable of accommodating
fifty large freight cars and two or three
engines in a single load.

The same system has had to be adopted
on the wider part of the Mississippi and
Columbia Rivers. New Orleans is about
one and a half miles away from Algiers.
All traffic between the two points over
the intercepting width of the Mississippi is

FLOATING RAILWAYS

117

negotiated by the train ferry. On the
Columbia River, just above Portland, a
similar state of affairs exists, as the water-
way is two miles in width.

But it is around the Great Lakes that
the most imposing illustrations of the pos-
sibilities of the floating rail-
The Great are offered> Thesc seas

Lakes Ferries. '

are transformed into one long

waterway by connecting narrow straits,
such as the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers.
On opposite sides of the channel flourish-
ing towns have sprung up. Thus there are
Detroit and Port Huron on the American
seaboard, faced by Windsor and Sarnia
respectively on the Canadian shore. While
the Canadian and American railways come
down to the water's edge on either bank,
the growth of international traffic and the
flow of produce to and fro could not be
interrupted or hindered by a neck of water
half-a-mile in width. So where the per-
manent way was impossible the railway
ferry was introduced, to float trains to and
fro incessantly throughout the twenty-four
hours the whole year round.

This practice remained in vogue for

several years, but the pressure of the

traffic demanded more ex-

The St. Clair peditious means of handling.
Tunnel. *_ . . c

This was particularly notice-
able between Sarnia and Port Huron, as
the interruption occurs on the busy main
line of the Grand Trunk Railway between
Montreal and Chicago. The urgency of
improved connection was driven home by
the increasing maritime traffic through the
St. Clair River, and the fact that move-
ment was impeded seriously by the ice
during the winter. So the engineers
searched for an easier situation. A bridge
was impossible : tunnelling beneath the
waterway was the only solution. This was
accomplished, and with the opening of
the St. Clair Tunnel, providing all-through
railway communication between Montreal
and Chicago, the ferry disappeared. The
floating railway continues to run between

Windsor and Detroit, however, although
several years ago a similar situation to
that developed farther north prompted
tunnelling operations at this point. In
this instance, however, at present the
subaqueous continuous rail connection
has not displaced the ferry traffic entirely.
The Grand Trunk Railway, which also
has a busy alternative international route,
via Detroit and Windsor, maintains a
fleet of three ferries upon the half-mile
of water separating the two countries,
over which the whole of the passenger and
goods traffic flowing through this channel
is moved. The largest of these steamers,
the Lansdowne, is 31 9j feet long, by
41 1 feet wide, and 15 feet deep. The
Huron, the second vessel, is 79| feet shorter,
but 2J feet wider. Each craft can receive
sixteen freight cars, each measuring 36 feet
in length, or eight Pullman cars each 72 feet
long. The third vessel, the Great Western,
is still smaller, and has a proportionate
lower carrying capacity.

The foregoing floating railways sink into
insignificance, however, in comparison with
those in operation upon Lake
Michigan. This vast, elongated The Lake
oval of fresh water is dotted Ferrjes
on either side by busy ports,
each of which is a teeming railway centre.
Obviously, merchandise which has to be
sent from one side of the lake to the
other cannot be dispatched upon a long
haul southwards to round the obstruction,
neither is it profitable to load it into lake
steamers. The cheapest and quickest
method of coping with the traffic is to
send it, packed in its trucks, across the
water obstruction. There are many busy
railway ferry lines, not only running across
the extreme breadth of Lake Michigan, but
also cutting across it diagonally, such as
from Menominee to Frankfort, and from
Manistique to Ludington. But the busiest
marine railway thoroughfare lies direct
across the breadth of the lake, between
Milwaukee and Grand Haven, a distance

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

of 84 miles. In order to obtain a more
realistic impression of what this means,
the sea-journey between Newhaven and
Dieppe, though eight miles shorter, offers
a good parallel, as the conditions are very
similar.

This is probably the busiest highway for

The ferries engaged in this service are the
largest, most powerful and speedy craft
to be found on the Continent.

The Grand Trunk ferries are named
respectively Milwaukee and Grand Haven.
The former is 350 feet long by 56 feet wide,
and 19 1 feet deep, drawing ll£- feet of water

THE LOUNGE ON A CANADIAN CAR FERRY.

this class of traffic in the world, and in
its development Anglo-Canadian enterprise
has played an important part, inasmuch
as the finest vessels of this type are run
by the essentially British Grand Trunk Rail-
way. A progressive city like Milwaukee,
with its 400,000 people and varied indus-
tries, found the lake a certain barrier to
its progress, but when a means of ship-
ping the products, after being packed in
the railway cars in the factory yards,
eastwards by the shortest route across the
water was perfected, a new era dawned.

when loaded. Her engines develop 3,000
horse-power, and when fully laden with
thirty cars each containing 60 tons —
1,800 tons in all — she can notch a speed
of 16 miles per hour. But merchandise is
not the complete scope of her operations ;
she is available also for passenger service.
Travellers, howeyer, when condemned to
a water journey of 84 miles, do not desire
to be cooped within a railway compart-
ment, lashed in a gloomy cavern between
decks. Accordingly the ferry is provided
with a passenger deck, and 30 state-

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120

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Cost
£100,000.

rooms for 90 first-class and 60 second-
class passengers. The vessel also can meet
another branch of railway traffic. In the
dog-days of summer the industrial popu-
lation of Milwaukee and other manufactur-
ing centres indulge in merry-making, as
in these islands. Mammoth excursions are
planned, and in this traffic the Milwaukee
assists very appreciably, as she is allowed
to carry 3,000 holiday makers.

Her consort, Grand Haven, while a trifle
smaller, being 30 feet less in length and
18 inches narrower, reducing
her carrying capacity by two
freight cars, representing 120
tons, is faster. Her engines, developing
4,000 horse-power, give her a speed of 20
miles an hour. She, likewise, is adapted
to the passenger - carrying trade, and has
state room accommodation for 96 first-
class and 154 second-class passengers.
These vessels were costly, the Milwaukee
representing an outlay of £100,000, while
her sister cost £80,000.

The modern Lake Michigan ferry is built

of steel throughout, as nothing but this

metal can stand up against

Thfjerries the heavy battering and
in Winter. *

pounding of the ice. Although

the lakes are frozen during the winter,
driving navigation into hibernation for six
months, the marine railway line must be
kept open. Accordingly, the latest ferries
are ice-breakers as well, so that they can
smash their way through the thick glassy
armour, the piles of floes, and the huge
packs. It is an inspiring sight to watch
these ferry boats attack an obstacle of ice.
The 5,000 tons representing the weight of
the vessel and its load charges the obstruc-
tion head on. The craft gives a momen-
tary shudder as she hits the ice, but recovers
herself immediately. The momentum she
has attained is sufficient to thrust her for-
ward, crunching, smashing, and throwing
chunks of ice in all directions. As she
drives her nose into a hummock, her bows
are doused in a bath of spray and ice chips,

.
Disaster.

for which a sharp look-out has to be main-
tained, as the flying debris cuts like glass.

If the obstacle is more than usually
resistant, the speed of the vessel gradually
slows down as she plunges through it,
although her propellers are seeking to
drive her forward. As the captain and
engineer feel that the harnessed steam is
being overpowered, the vessel is stopped
and backed down the channel she has cut
for herself, so as to have sufficient distance
to get up speed once more to make another
doughty " buck " at the ice.

But running the railway ferries across
the breadth of Lake Michigan is not all
honey. This sea, in common
with the others in the chain,
is swept by the most violent
storms, when the waves get up as high as
any to be met on the Atlantic. Then
the ferry has a hard gruelling, especially
when the ice is about at the same
time. Although staunchly built, engineer-
ing science in this field has not overcome
completely the forces of Nature. Lake
Michigan has its own tale of disaster, and
has gathered its victims from the craft
which seek to bridge the gap between the
respective ends of the railway lines. The
year 1909 was particularly black in this
respect, and, the ice and storms being
abnormally severe, even for Lake Michigan,
sad havoc was wrought. The Pere Mar-
quette steel car ferry No. 18 started out
on her eastern trip Avith a full load of
thirty laden coal-cars, and a crew of forty
all told. Winter was jabbing its pre-
liminary stings, and the sky looked sullen.
But the railway ferry waits neither for
weather nor season. The cars were lashed
down with more than usual care, as there
was every indication of a rough journey.

The craft had barely got well out into
the lake, and was ploughing along under
full steam, when, with magic

suddenness, the Arctic tempest ™e ^a,rs

Break Loose.

burst over her. The GO-milcs-

an-hour gale catching the cumbersome,

FLOATING RAILWAYS

121

loaded craft unawares, caused her to reel
and stagger like a drunken man. The
rough-and-tumble was so severe that before
the crew grasped the situation two of the
ungainly cars had snapped their lashings
like pack-threads. All was confusion in an
instant. The uncontrolled cars reared and
plunged as the boat rolled and tossed. In
the twinkling of an eye three men, run
down by the breakaways, had been reduced
to pulp. Even a steel-built vessel scarcely
can withstand the pommellings of some
100 tons rolling about hither and thither,
so intense alarm was felt by the dis-
covery that leaks had been started, and
that the stern compartments were being
flooded.

Instantly the pumps were got to work,

and choughed like mad demons in the

endeavour to keep the water

The Cars down. One runaway, after
Abandoned.

wreaking widespread damage,

responded to a heavy pitch of the labour-
ing boat, and took a headlong dive over
the stern into the lake. With much
difficulty the second was got overboard.
But although one danger had passed,
another loomed up. The pumps, after
working for three hours, became choked
with ice, so that the water gained steadily.
There was only one chance to save the
boat, and that was to lighten her. The
captain gave the command to jettison the
cars. It was a simple order, but one which
was terrifying to carry into effect, when
the ferry was writhing and twisting like
an acrobat. Still, the crew, with that grit
and determination born of desperation,
sprang to the task. The cars were cau-
tiously released when the boat steadied
herself for a second or two, and then, in
the twinkling of an eye, as the nose of the
ferry rose to climb a roller, a car was let
loose. The stetp declination of the track
enabled the cars to rush down with fearful
force to smash into the water. Now and
again, owing to the ship pitching nose
downwards before the truck was clear, the
16

rear wheels caught, and then the men had
to toil like demons and with superhuman
effort to prise the wheels over.

Meantime the ferry was settling down
steadily. All but two of the cars were
got off, when the captain gave
the men the order to rush for ™*,Jieroic
their lives. They hesitated a
moment, as the exertions of their task
had diverted their attention from the
plight of the vessel. But they obeyed the
order. They had scarcely drawn clear,
and were fighting grimly among the foam-
ing waves, when, glancing backwards, they
saw the ferry dip her stern as the bow met
an advancing roller. But the stern did
not rise as it should have done the suc-
ceeding instant. Instead, it was swamped,
and never was seen again. The ferry sank
like a floating tin which suddenly has its
stability destroyed. The men pulled hard
for the shore, no easy task in such a sea
and with the thermometer well down below
freezing point : of the forty who put out
from port only two got ashore.

The method of bringing these floating
railways into line with the land tracks at
the water's edge is somewhat

novel. The area for docking How the
, , , , . , . . Trains are

the vessel, which is just large Embarked.

enough to accommodate her
and no more, is given a substantial fence
of massive timber piles, the line of which
follows the contour of the ship from the stern
to amidships. The vessel backs into this
enclosure very steadily, presently bumping
gently against the fence. The piles give a
trifle to the blow, but at the same time
they guide the movement of stern until at
last it strikes the end of the dock, when,
the metals coming into line, bolts are
dropped to hold the vessel firmly in position.
In tidal waters connection between the rail-
way and the ship's deck is maintained over
a bridge, one end of which can be moved
up or down to overcome the difference in
level between the tracks on land and on
board respectively.

122

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

On the other lakes, ferry services are
maintained between important railway
points on the opposite shores. Thus the
Straits of Mackinac, where the waters of
Lakes Michigan and Huron mingle, are
spanned by these massive steel craft. These
particular ferries, however, do not ply only
between the facing railway terminals located
on the respective banks, but at times em-
bark upon coasting journeys, carrying their
ponderous loads 60 or 70 miles down the
shores. Lake Erie is spanned between Port
Stanley on the Canadian side and Conneaut,
Ohio, while Lake Ontario is bridged simi-
larly between Cobourg, Ontario, and the
Port of Rochester, in the State of New
York, the sea journey being 56 miles.
The ferry engaged on this service, Ontario
No. 1, is a particularly fine example of the
American-built marine railway. She has
an over-all length of 316 feet, a beam of
54 feet, and depth of 20 feet, drawing
15 feet of water when loaded. Steel is
used throughout in her construction, and
the hull is subdivided by water-tight bulk-
heads, while her twin screws and engines
are sufficiently powerful to secure a speed
of 17 knots per hour. Her deck is a minia-
ture railway siding with its four sets of

metals, which are capable of receiving
thirty American freight cars. While this
ferry is fitted with a deck for passengers,
and has an elaborate equipment, including
a music room and a restaurant service
a la carte, it is essentially a freight route.
The Grand Trunk Railway Company and
other industrial Canadian manufacturing
interests draw their coal supplies from
the Western Pennsylvania fields, which are
served by the Buffalo, Rochester and Pitts-
burg Railway. The trucks, laden with 50
tons of coal, are brought up to Rochester
and then transported directly across the
lake for distribution to the desired points
on the Canadian shore, the ferry handling
a complete consignment of 1,500 tons of
fuel in a single trip. In this instance the
ferry saves a haul of 214 miles, since other-
wise the fuel would have to be carried
around the head of the lake, and enter
Canada via the Niagara frontier- — a detour
of 270 miles. The passenger service, how-
ever is somewhat heavy, as many wealthy
Americans have established summer homes
on the Canadian shore of the lake, while
the excursion traffic has grown very ap-
preciably, this vessel being able to carry
1,000 merrymakers.

Photograph by permission of the Southern Facile Rail-way.

HOW ENGINES AND TRAINS ARE TRANSPORTED INTACT.

THE STEAM SHOVEL, THE RAILWAY BUILDERS' MOST SERVICEABLE TOOL.
Few devices have facilitated and expedited railway construction so much as the steam navvy,

which is capable of removing three or more tons of spoil at a time
5

Photograph by permission of the Bitcyrns Company,

THE STEAM SHOVEL EMPTYING ITS CAPACIOUS MOUTHFUL INTO THE BALLAST WAGONS.

The Railway Builders' Heavy
. Artillery— I

THE STEAM SHOVEL, THE PLOUGH, THE GRADER, AND DRAG-LINE EXCAVATOR

N the early days of railway
building the tools employed for
fashioning the permanent way
were both primitive in character
and limited in variety. The
pick, shovel, and wheelbarrow
were practically the only im-
plements available and used. They were
adequate for the time, but as the railway
" caught on," and each country in turn
fell a victim to the railway mania, the
pace became so hot that the conventional
methods of building the steel highway
proved totally impracticable.

Ingenious minds at once set to work to
devise mechanical appliances to expedite

and facilitate excavating, transporting, and
dumping the " spoil." Manual labour with
white men is proverbially expensive, and
under the most favourable conditions is
relatively slow. Had the inventive faculty
been lacking, and reliance placed upon
the pick, shovel, and wheelbarrow, 50
per cent, of the railways now encircling
the globe would have remained yet on
paper. In such enterprises as the pro-
vision of railway transportation facilities
the labour problem ever is acute, as much
in new as in settled countries.

Among the wonderful devices which have
been evolved to assist the railway-builder,
the steam shovel stands pre-eminent. Ap-

123

THE RAILWAY BUILDEF
The steam shovel making a "thorough" cut. It is digging its way down. to a

••$

Photograph by permission of the Bucyrus Company.

DANDIEST TOOL.

long the line of the railway, emptying its spoil into the ballast train alongside.

126

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The Steam
Shovel.

parently this useful implement is of British
origin. Certainly in its primitive form it
was a crude affair, comprising a vertical
boiler, boom, pulleys, chain and small
bucket, or shovel, mounted upon an ordin-
ary railway truck — an improvisation purely
and simply. Since those days, however,
the implement has undergone a wonderful
development, both in size and capacity, for
the purpose of cheapening and expediting
digging operations.

These tools follow the same broad prin-
ciples of design the whole world over,
though obviously they differ
in details. Thus a descrip-
tion of one may be said to
apply broadly to the whole class of this
implement. The elements comprise the
carrying truck, on which the steam oper-
ating engine is mounted, a boom or jib,
the shovel proper, which in reality is a
huge bucket, and the means for operating
the latter.

In the largest and most powerful types
the plant is mounted upon a long, two four-
wheeled bogie car which carries the whole
of the power-generating and operating
plant, the machine thus being self-contained
and able to do everything except propel
itself. Complete, it may weigh anything
from 40 to 100 tons in working order.
The Bucyrus shovel, which has achieved a
world-wide reputation, and which is in
very extensive use in all the five continents,
is typical of its class. It is a ponderous
machine, and although made in a wide
variety of styles, the type generally em-
ployed for railway building operations
ranges between 70 and 80 tons with a
bucket of 2J cubic yards capacity.

These shovels run upon tracks of standard
gauge, a short length being laid down for
their accommodation in the cutting or
ballast pit. When the earth has been
removed to the limit of the shovel's reach
from the front end of the track, the rails
behind are taken up and relaid in front.

The shovel itself is swivelled upon the

end of a long beam, known as the " dipper
handle," which is carried at a point about
half-way up the boom, and in such a way
that it may slide by spur gearing between
guides, so as to enable the dipper handle-
to be shortened or lengthened within limits
to accommodate the bucket to the reach of
the work. The upper end of the shovel is
connected to chain or wire ropes, which,
passing over pulleys at the end of the boom,
and around sheaves mounted on the carry-
ing trucks, enables the bucket to be lowered
or hoisted. The empty shovel is swung out
and lowered to the bottom of the bank, and
then by means of chains or wire ropes is
pulled up the slope to the top, the dipper
handle keeping the shovel well pressed
against the surface, so that by the time
the shovel has completed the length of its
upward travel it is filled with 2| or more
cubic yards of spoil, according to the
capacity of the bucket. The upper edge of
the bucket, on the side where it comes into
contact with the soil, is fitted with massive
teeth, which, as the shovel is scraped up
the bank, dig and tear up the spoil, which
falls into the mouth of the bucket. The
load, with the teeth pointing upwards, is
then swung round, until the huge mouthful
of earth is over the ballast wagon, when
the hinged bottom of the bucket is opened,
and the contents fall into the waiting truck.

In some instances it is only the main
boom which can be swung round within
certain limits to enable the spoil to be
dumped, but in other cases the entire
mechanism is mounted upon a turntable,. so
as to enable the whole to be rotated, a cir-
cular track, carrying small rollers, being laid
upon the deck of the truck for this purpose.

When a new railway is to be built the
steam shovel commences operations right
away, unless a cutting is to be

made on the side of a hill. The

.. . , . , ., "Thorough"

A temporary track is laid to Cut

one side of the location line

to carry the train of ballast wagons. The

steam shovel track is laid upon the location,

THE RAILWAY BUILDERS' HEAVY ARTILLERY 127

and the implement drives what is known in
railway builders' parlance as a " thorough "
cut. It digs its way down to the plotted
level, swinging round its bucket with every
mouthful to dump the removed earth into
the trucks alongside.

When the shovel has completed this
" thorough " cut it is backed out of the
trench. The ballast wagons are now run
upon a track laid through this
cutting, the shovel making drives
through the bank first on one and
then on the other side of the
" thorough " cut, until the excava-
tion has been opened out to the
designed width. If a very deep cut
has to be made through the hump
in order to get down to the plotted
level for the line, the shovel will
make two or more trenches through
the hump at different levels, until
the requisite depth has been
reached.

The introduction of the heavy
powerful steam shovel has not
failed to influence the design and
capacity of the wagons employed
for the removal of the excavated f

material. The tiny narrow-gauge
wagon of about 4 cubic yards'
capacity is not efficient or eco-
nomical when working in conjunction
with a big steam navvy, so larger
and more capacious trucks have been
evolved for working on a temporary
standard gauge track. These cars are
provided with sides, but no ends. Boards
are laid across the gaps, both on floor and
sides, between succeeding trucks, so that
the train resembles one long continuous
wooden trench on wheels. Thus a laden
ballast train may easily represent a con-
tinuous ridge of earth 100 to 150 yards in
length. These cars are emptied in a special
manner, as described later. Or the vehicles
may be of the automatic dump type, capable
of carrying 16 cubic yards of earth, which
is discharged through bottom - opening

doors, to secure even distribution of the
spoil when building up an embankment
from a timber trestle.

When the steam-shovel first was intro-
duced its application was limited to ex-
cavating such material as clays, gravel,
sand, etc., classified generally as " common."
As the power, strength, and capacity of the
tool was increased it was turned to useful

THE MECHANICAL SHOVEL WORKING IN A TUNNEL
AND DRIVEN BY COMPRESSED AIR.

account in connection with the removal of
earth associated with stones of small size,
which is generally rated as " loose rock."
But when railway construction was carried
into the mountains, where the builders
were faced with dense hard rock which
had to be brought down by explosives,
it was found useless, since huge boulders
one and two tons in weight had to be
moved. Manual handling was slow and
expensive.

Accordingly, a friend of mine, who had
secured the contracts for building a trans-
continental railway through difficult moun-
tainous country, endeavoured to adapt one
of his steam shovels to the task. But the
experiment was a dismal failure ; the tool

128

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

broke down under the strain of scooping up was carried through the mountains in far

large ragged and heavy pieces of the rock.
Convinced that it could be made to fulfil

less time than the contractor ever had
anticipated, although it was through dense

this class of work, he urged one of the steam hard rock the whole way.

shovel manufacturers to design him a more The work these shovels will get through

powerful tool. Some months were occupied when the conditions are favourable is

THE STEAM SHOVEL PLOUGHING ITS WAY THROUGH A DEEP CUT.

in solving the peculiar difficulties which
arose, but at last an experimental shovel
was dispatched to the front and submitted
to the test. The bucket was of small
capacity, and although delays arose owing
to breakdowns, the machine did its work
effectively. It failed intermittently merely
because it was insufficiently powerful and
heavy. The railway builder, however, gave
an order on the spot for half-a-dozen
shovels for rockwork if the designers would
undertake to give him a 3j cubic yards
bucket. The order was fulfilled, and by
the aid of those heavy weapons the track

amazing. A 2\ cubic yard dipper will
shift 2,000 cubic yards of " common " in
a single 10-hour working day, and in one
case on record over 75,000 cubic yards were
moved . in a month, working 10-hour day
shifts only, notwithstanding the fact that
four working days were lost through minor
delays. In fact, the working speed is
governed very appreciably by the celerity
with which the ballast trains can be
marshalled alongside, so that the dipper
can pursue its monotonous swinging with-
out hindrance. Taken on the average a
single shovel, requiring a crew of about

THE RAILWAY BUILDERS' HEAVY ARTILLERY 129

seven to nine men to attend to all require-
ments, will displace from 500 to 600 men
toiling by hand, while often it will cope
with work which could not be carried out
by manual effort, under any circumstances,
no matter how many men might be avail-
able for the purpose.

The saving that can be effected by the
utilisation of the steam shovel is tremendous.

will possibly run through virgin country
void of roads, the weight and dimensions
of this implement militate against its
dispatch to the advance grading camps,
owing to the difficulties of transportation.
A weight of between 70 and 80 tons is
not lightly handled over rugged rough
country.

As a rule, under such conditions, when

THE GRADER AT WORK.

This "tool" is worked by animal power, the horses or mules both pulling and
pushing it along. The spoil is discharged into the wagon alongside.

While the cost of operation naturally varies
according to local conditions — the cost of
fuel and labour — on the average it will
enable a contractor to undertake a job of
large dimensions at from 9d. to Is. per
cubic yard. The fuel consumption ranges
up to about 25 cwt., and from 800 to 1,000
gallons of water per 10-hour working day.
At the same time it is not always possible
to bring the steam shovel into action, no
matter how urgently it may be required.
Seeing that a big railway undertaking will
be attacked at twenty or thirty different
points simultaneously over a distance of
100 or 150 miles beyond the railhead, and
17

the steam navvy cannot be brought up,
other and lighter appliances are used for
the time being. One of these is the plough,
which is very handy for cutting off the
tops of obstructing humps. It is similar in
design to the agricultural implement, and
is handled in the same way by horses.
The top of the hump is cut up, and the
displaced earth is pushed over the edge
to roll down the slopes. While the system
is slow, it is a serviceable makeshift until
the more powerful mechanical tool can be
brought up, and it is fairly efficient when
working upon a confined area. The scraper
is another tool which is requisitioned under

130

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

PLOUGHING OFF THE TOP OF

A HILL TO LEVEL THE GRADE ON THE CANADIAN NORTHERN
TRANSCONTINENTAL.

similar conditions. Drawn by a team of
animals it scrapes up the surface of the
ground, and the material thus removed is
deflected and thrown to one side. The
implement, however, can be used only
where the soil is soft and easily work-
able.

The grader will do much of the work
ordinarily performed by the steam shovel.
This comprises a small plough, carried
in a light small frame. From one
side rises, at an angle of about 45
degrees, a short light lattice boom,
around which travels a continuous belt of
small buckets. As these latter round the
lower point of the boom they are filled
with the spoil cut up by the plough, and
then travel along the upper side of the
boom. In rounding the uppermost point
of the ladder the buckets are capsized,
and their contents shot into a capacious
box wagon, which, drawn by horses, keeps
pace with the grader. When the wagon is
filled it draws to one side, to permit of

another empty vehicle taking its place. The
grader is worked by animal power, the
horses or mules both pulling and pushing
the tool. As many as 12 to 16 animals
will be hitched to a single implement, and
they continue the restless tramp up and
down the cutting until the plotted level
for the line has been gained. This is about
the hardest task that can be imposed upon
horseflesh in railway building operations,
and only the strongest and most enduring
animals can be employed, while even they
fail to withstand the gruelling for very
long without a change to lighter work.
The mule appears to be better able to
tolerate the exacting task than the horse,
and consequently is used for preference.

During the past few years a new heavy
tool, known as the " Drag-Line " excavator,
has been brought extensively into service
for railway building. It has proved excep-
tionally useful for raising embankments,
working in ballast pits, and for making
cuts through soft and water-logged ground.

THE RAILWAY BUILDERS' HEAVY ARTILLERY 131

The advantage is that it does not have to
be placed in the cutting, but can be set
on higher dry land on either side.

It is a somewhat lighter tool than the
steam shovel, and the capacity of the
buckets is somewhat less. It comprises a
platform deck provided with a circular
track and rollers to permit the whole
machine to be swung round through a
complete circle. The deck carries the whole
of the power - generating plant, whether
steam or motor, and hoisting- machinery,
while from the front projects the jib, with
pulleys, whereby the bucket is handled.
The machine is bedded on a fixed founda-
tion, instead of wheels, as in the case of the
steam shovel, so that when its labours are
completed at one place it has to be dis-
mantled and re-erected at another point.
The absence of portability, however, is com-
pensated by the extreme working radius
possessed by the machine.

The boom in the largest Bucyrus machines
runs up to as much as 100 feet in length,
and will carry a bucket of 3| yards capacity.
The latter is suspended at its rear face from
the end of the boom by wire cables passing
over pulleys in the head of the jib. A
second rope is attached to the front of the
bucket, which likewise passes over similar
pulleys, and thence to the sheaves. This is
the digging rope, whereby the movement
of the bucket is controlled by the operator,
not only in filling and emptying operations,
but also to slope the banks on either side
of the cutting. A third rope passes from
the nose of the bucket direct to the engine
winding drum, wherewith the bucket is
dragged along the ground and kept to its
work.

In the manipulation of this machine a
good deal depends upon the skill of the
operator. The bucket is not merely run
out and dropped from the end of the

Photograph by fermission of the Biicyrus Compal

DRAG- LINE EXCAVATOR WORKING IN HEAVY CLAY IN A BALLAST PIT.
Showing how the ground is scooped out.

132

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

boom, but should be cast beyond the
extremity of the latter. An expert operator
with a 100 feet boom, under good condi-
tions, can throw the bucket to a point
30 feet beyond the end of the jib, so that
the working distance becomes increased to
some 130 feet. As the bucket is dragged
along the ground, the manipulation of its
front cutting edge in conjunction with the
movement of the drag rope enables it to
scoop up the soil. When the bucket is
hauled in, the machine is slewed round, and
the contents either dumped into wagons
for removal or discharged to build up an
embankment.

The depth to which a machine with a
100 feet boom will excavate from one given
point varies from 39 to 52 feet. The sharper
the slope of the bank on which the machine
is standing the greater the depth possible.
If the operator is expert he can dig the
slope, not only on the near, but also on
the far side of the cutting, at 1| to 1,
or less. Thus with the largest type of

machine it is possible to make a cutting
25 feet deep and, with banks sloping at
Ij to 1, about 30 feet wide at the bottom.

When first brought into service the
machine was far from being satisfactory. It
was practically an improvisation to meet
peculiar situations, and good results were
not obtained, except under favourable condi-
tions. But the observance of the necessity
to build this machine upon the same sound
and substantial lines as governs the design
of the heavy, powerful steam shovels has
served to correct many of the objections
concerning its utility.

The handling of spoil brought down by
explosives in tunnels still is extensively
carried out by hand, although the steam
shovel is being utilised in this connection
when excavating out to the full dimen-
sions of the tunnel. So far it has yielded
the most satisfactory results. In this
application compressed air is employed as
the motive power, steam obviously being
impossible, as it would foul the workings.

.**• • , fc-« *v «. , - ... • .-.* • •

l-k?:o<rnipk I,, ftr,niaion of lilt E,
THE DRAG - LINE EXCAVATOR BUILDING UP AN EMBANKMENT.

HOW THE MUSKEG WORRIES THE ENGINEER.
A sink in the embankment of the Grand Trunk Pacific in Quebec.

Getting Out of Tight Corners

SOME EXTRAORDINARY INSTANCES OF THE RESOURCEFULNESS OF RAILWAY
ENGINEERS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD

HILE the engineer is prepared
to go anywhere, and is ready
to achieve the seemingly im-
possible if the occasion rises,
he always has his ambitions
braked by one irresistible
force — the hand which con-
trols the purse - strings. As a rule the
financier either does not or will not (owing
to monetary stringency) see eye to eye
with the engineer in the subjugation of
an abnormal obstacle. This absence of
sympathy was particularly noticeable in
the early days of railway building, as then
the item of cost was kept down with a
very rigorous hand. The financier was
ambitious, but wanted his dreams fulfilled
for next to nothing, and was chagrined

when the technical expert frankly told
him that his ideas were impracticable — -
unless he spent money. When the engineer
on his part came forward with ways and
means of solving a difficulty, then the
financier fired the eternal question, " What
is it going to cost ? "

Yet in curbing the engineer the directing
force often was responsible unwittingly for
the performance of highly ingenious and
daring pieces of work, which to-day arouse
widespread attention. The engineer is a
man of infinite resource, and when driven
into a corner never has failed to rise to
the occasion.

At the same time it must be pointed out
that the engineer sometimes is baulked by
a more formidable antagonist than lack

'33

134

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

of funds. The physical characteristics may
be dead against him. This was the case
when George Stephenson, in building the
Liverpool and Manchester Railway, decided
to cut across, instead of running round the
big bog, seven miles west of Manchester,
known as Chat Moss. To dump ballast
into this quagmire was akin to pouring
water into a bottomless pit. Accordingly
Stephenson introduced what is now univers-
ally known as the " corduroy " or mattress.
Branches of trees, hurdles intertwined with
hedge-cuttings, heather and what not were
laid upon the surface of the bog and upon
this the embankment was raised to carry
the metals.

Probably the most powerful evidences

of this method of overcoming similar

stretches of soft ground are

. offered in America and Asia.

Muskeg;
Trouble. The muskeg in the former and

the tundra in the latter both
coincide with our interpretation of a bog,
being merely huge basins of great depth,
in which the water has collected and has
become associated with decaying vege-
table matter, and trees which have rotted,
the whole forming a mass similar to a
soddened sponge.

In constructing the National Trans-
continental Railway division of the Grand
Trunk Pacific Railway, the muskeg has
been a continual source of anxiety. The
hinterland of Quebec and Ontario is a
series of vast stretches of these morasses
lying between the low-lying ridges of hills
and mountains, beside which the 10 square
miles of Chat Moss sink into insignificance.
Every depression virtually is a muskeg
stretching for miles, and the Grand Trunk
Pacific, from its location, cuts across these
wastes at right angles.

The engineers indicated the trouble these
swamps were likely to create when they

made their surveys, and ar-
*« Sink- holes." rangements were completed

in anticipation of a severe
tussle for mastery. Time after time an

embankment was raised and regarded as
permanent only to collapse with dramatic-
suddenness. " Sink-holes " the navvies
call them, and the name is appropriate,
because the embankment simply sinks
bodily into the morass, leaving the rails
drooping in festoons through the air, or
piling up an inextricable jumble of sleepers,
metals, trucks, and broken trestling.

Elaborate corduroying was the only
means of combating this exasperating
difficulty. Fortunately, the bush

on either side offered plenty of ^he

... . . Corduroy

material in jack-pme, tama- Remedy.

rack, hemlock, and other trees
indigenous to such latitudes. They were
cut down by the hundred, and woven into
a thick mat. They were not trifling
creations by any means. I have scrambled
over some of them with the navvies, and
they have been as thick as a man is tall,
built up of trees measuring 4 to 6 inches-
at the butt, and laced firmly together
to form a continuous pathway across the
swamp.

As the ballast is dumped upon them they
sink into the viscous slime steadily and
surely, until at last no vestige of the
mattress is to be seen. The builder con-
tinues to dump, little ballast trucks scurry
to and from the ballast pits with thousands
of tons of gravel and stone in an endless
stream, until at last the sub-grade is brought
to the required level. Then there is a
pause, to see whether the fabric is taking
a short rest before continuing its descent.
It is as if the embankment were built on
a huge hammock swung from edge to edge
of the depression spanned in this manner.

At first sight one might conclude that in
time the support would collapse at several
points, through the vegetable
foundation rotting. But there
is no such fear. The mattress
sinks to a deptli of several feet, and
putrefaction cannot take place owing
to the complete exclusion of air. As a
matter of fact the corduroy becomes

GETTING OUT OF TIGHT CORNERS

135

stronger and stronger as time passes.
The tree trunks become soddened with
the water, and in the course of a few years
are transformed virtually into petrified
columns ; or at any rate to the hardness
and texture of bog-oak.

When the engineers carried the Trans-
Siberian Railway across the wild wastes of
Russia's Asiatic Empire, the same diffi-
culties were encountered,
and they could be sub-
jugated only by recourse
to the self - same ex-
pedient. Fortunately,
these conditions pre-
vail generally in densely
forested districts, so
that ample supplies of
the raw material re-
quisite for the mat-
tresses are to be found
upon the spot.

Sudden differences in
level, with a lack of
elbow-room, have been
responsible for many
notable achievements.
When Meiggs set out
to carry the steel high-
way from the Pacific
seaboard of Peru over the Andes to
the navigable waters of the Amazon,
the mountains appeared to offer an in-
superable obstacle. The peaks of this
frowning chain differ from those found in

conquered, does not zigzag more bewilder-
ingly than the Oroya Railway, which is
virtually a series of sprawling " Z's " piled
one above the other.

In order to rise from one level to the
other the engineer introduced a solution
which has since become widely known as
the Meiggs " V-s witch." It was a novelty
in railway construction, but as he had

THE MEIGGS V-SWITCH ON THE OROYA RAILWAY.
This device enabled the engineer to conquer the zigzags upon his

railway.

resorted to all other known methods of
getting out of a tight corner, he was forced
to depend upon his fertile ingenuity in this
instance. The V-switch, as its name implies,
is a big " V " at the dead end where two

other countries. They drop precipitously sections of the railway ascending the moun-

from dizzy heights amid the clouds into
deep yawning chasms with walls as cleanly
cut as if they had been dressed with chisels,
and as vertically true as a plummet.
Meiggs followed the only available course.

tain side meet. Instead of the train being
hauled up one leg and pushed up the other,
as in the zigzag or switchback, the train,
upon reaching the apex, draws slowly
forward until it is brought between the

He pushed his metals forward by the aid legs of another V set at right angles to

of explosives as far as a friendly shelf of the main track. This smaller V is laid

rock would permit. When this suddenly upon a cleared hump. The engine is

dropped into the gloomy depths of the detached from the train, run forward a

ravine, he drove his line in the reverse
direction up the mountain slope. The

short distance, then backed down the leg
of the V to its apex. The latter is a

Stelvio highway, whereby the Alps are turntable, which, when the engine is

136

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

.-% M m&

It •£* -f?»( ' ', €; ^

THE AMAZING TWISTS AND TURNS ON THE OROYA RAILWAY.
At the left is a dead end where the engine shunts to change ends of the train.

received thereon, is turned until the head
of the locomotive points up the second leg
of the V, along which it runs on to the
main line once more. Now it backs on to
the train, which is then hauled up the
mountain-side until a similar operation
becomes necessary to lift the train on to
another level.

At other points direct shunting accom-
plishes the self-same end, as there is
sufficient space for the purpose. At the
dead end two tracks or sidings are laid
down. The uncoupled engine runs forward,
and by means of points is directed on to
the second road, along which it backs a
sufficient distance to be enabled to run on
to the first road once more over a set of
points, when it is reconnected to the train.
It will be seen that in climbing the Andes
the engine always hauls the train. Zig-
zagging in the usual manner would be

dangerous, owing to the remarkable twists
and turns described. The prevalence of
landslides renders pushing up a slope
dangerous, because the driver, in such a
case, could not possibly see ahead of him,
and might push the vehicles into a heavy
pile of debris which had been brought
down by the denuding forces of Nature
and distributed over the track.

The Oroya Railway is an engineering
wonder because the engineer was baffled
at every trick and turn. The train while
on its way plays a continuous game of hide-
and-seek, as it darts in and out short tunnels
driven through projecting spurs of the
mountains. The sharp twists and turns
are equally striking, the line doubling and
redoubling upon itself in the most amazing
manner.

If the engineer were called upon to build
the Oroya Railway to-day, probably he

GETTING OUT OF TIGHT CORNERS

137

would resort to simpler means of gaining
the various levels. It might mean the
introduction of steep banks ; but wherever
the grade exceeded 1 in 22 recourse to a
rack-rail would overcome the difficulty.
This means of coping with abrupt changes
in level has been adopted freely in subse-
quent railways among the Andes, such as
the Argentine-Chilian Transcontinental and
the Arica-La Paz undertakings, while all
the steep stretches on the Leopoldina Rail-
way are negotiated in this manner. For
such services the engine is of special design,
being a combined rack and adhesion loco-
motive, the cog-wheel coming into action
when the rack sections are entered. The
perfection of this combined engine has
assisted the railway builder very appre-

ciably, as zigzags, although effective, are
far from economical in operation. They
limit the capacity of the line very severely,
while the length of track necessary to con-
nect two particular points is about twice
that required when the rack is used.

At the same time, however, by resort to
such ingenious methods Meig'gs was able to
lift his ribbon of steel to a height of 15,665
feet above the Pacific in a distance of 107
miles. At places the presence of a gigantic
peak demanded other solutions. He could
not introduce a V-switch in the heart of
the mountain. Then he mastered the
difficulty by fashioning a huge loop, the
greater part of which was carried through
the dense rock, bringing one portal imme-
diately above the other. In one instance

. .

BUILDING THE ESPERANZA TUNNEL ON THE OROYA RAILWAY.

The railway entering the portal at right describes a big curve in the mountain to emerge at the

higher level at left.

v -

J38

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

the two tunnel mouths are side by side, With admirable ingenuity Helhvag in-

although one is about 30 feet above the troduccd quite a new feature into railway

other. The train enters one gloomy portal engineering — the spiral tunnel ; and some

and follows a horseshoe bend in the heart striking instances of his handiwork are to

of the peak, so that upon emerging the be found on both sides of the great Alpine

train doubles back upon itself, running tunnel. Going south, the railway, as it

THREE DIFFERENT LEVELS ON THE OROYA RAILWAY.

roughly parallel with the path it followed
to enter the pinnacle.

While Monsieur Favre was wrestling with
the rock in the bowels of the St. Gotthard,
his first lieutenant, Herr Hellwag, a clever
German engineer, was pitted against some
very teasing problems in the constricted,
cramped valleys among the surrounding
mountains, where heavy differences in level
had to be overcome quickly. As the St.
Gotthard Railway was to be a short cut
across Switzerland between Italy and the
north, it had to conform with trunk road
requirements. Accordingly, switchbacks,
zigzags, racks, and other simple means of
meeting the situation were impracticable.

winds through the Reuss valley, climbs
ever upwards to Goschenen, at the north
portal. At kilometre-post 60| the line
swings to the east side of the waterway and
immediately plunges into the mountain side,
where it describes almost an entire circle,
approximately 1,050 feet in diameter. When
it emerges from the mountain it is over the
first portal, and then runs back for some
distance. In the course of another half a
kilometre the line plunges into a second
peak, where it describes another big loop,
forming the Wattinger tunnel, issuing from
which it gains a still higher level. Thus,
side by side, there are virtually three tracks
on three levels, two running south and one

140

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

running north, while kilometre-posts 60, 63
and 66 are practically in line, the railway
covering seven kilometres to advance one
kilometre in distance.

In the Pfaffensbrung tunnel the railway
describes a similar but slightly more ellip-

once more darts into the mountain clump,
describes another circle in the Prato tunnel
5,119'4 feet long, the lower being imme-
diately under the upper portal.

But the most remarkable display of Hell-
wag's marvellous ingenuity is the manner

THE WONDERFUL HORSESHOE CURVE
A sweep of 2} miles round the valley to preserve the grade. The

tical spiral, while a double spiral is made
south of Airolo, somewhat similar to that
at Wassen, although there is no doubling
and redoubling of tracks. Just after
passing kilometre 99 the railway plunges
through the Freggio tunnel, 5,143-6 feet
in length, the circle being about 1,050
feet in diameter, the line passing im-
mediately under the track by which
the mountain was entered. Some 2j kilo-
metres lower down the valley the railway

in which he overcame the Biaschina gorge
and its abrupt severe drops in level, for
here there are two complete spiral tunnels
side by side. The line enters the moun-
tain flanks describing a complete circle
of 4,972-5 feet. Issuing from this cavern,
it runs down the valley for a short
distance, and then describes another huge
spiral in the Travi tunnel, 5,073 feet in
length from end to end. Thus a rough
figure eight is described on one side of the

GETTING OUT OF TIGHT CORNERS

141

ravine, the two tunnel walls almost touch-
ing. This development work is marvellous,
and as an engineering feat is worthy of
ranking with the St. Gotthard tunnel itself.
It is not surprising that, after this mani-
festation of ingenuity, Hellwag should have

from its tangle in the Kicking Horse Pass,
and to eliminate the " Big Hill," so as to
pull down the railway gradient, he did not
hesitate to apply Hcllwag's spiral solution to
British Columbia, where similar conditions
prevailed, as described in another chapter.

N THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILWAY.

stance in a straight line across the ends of the loop is one mile

been elected to the position of engineer-
in-chief of the whole enterprise when Louis
Favre succumbed to an apoplectic seizure
before the tunnel was completed. Hellwag's
appointment, however, was received with
unalloyed displeasure and jealousy ; so
after a short while he threw up the reins
of the enterprise, virtually hounded from
his post by piqued interests.

When Mr. Schwitzer was called upon
to extricate the Canadian Pacific Railway

The loop is another favourite method of
overcoming sudden differences in level, and
it is practicable so long as the engineer has
space in which to describe the curves lead-
ing from one gallery to another. When
David Moffat, the " Silver King," decided
to take a new line as the crow flies from
Denver to Salt Lake City, the frowning
rampart of the snow-crowned Rockies stood
in the way of his engineers. They received
strict injunctions to surmount that tower-

142

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

THE DOUBLE SPIRAL TUNNELS ON THE
ST. GOTTHARD RAILWAY.

ing obstacle by hook or by crook.
The " Silver King " called for as
straight and as short a line as skill
and science could contrive. The city
of Denver lies at an altitude of 5,198
feet above the sea, and to get over the
range the engineers were compelled to
carry the metals another 6,400 feet
into the clouds, through a land of per-
petual snow, and that within a very few
miles, as the outer walls of the Rockies
press hard upon Denver. A direct drive
forward was impossible, so, after the
engineers had got well into the range,
they carried their ines ever upward
in a bewildering, tortuous line, mak-
ing huge loops and describing broad
sweeping curves to the summit.

" The grade must be maintained."
That is the governing dictum in con-
nection with modern railway construc-
tion, and in pursuance of this policy
some notable instances of development
work are offered freely. Thus, on the
Pennsylvania Railway the maximum
mountain grade on the main line is
1'73 per cent., or an approximate rise

of 92 feet per mile. At Kittaning Point the
line emerges into a wide valley, and a point
on the opposite side of the ravine, and one
mile distant, is its objective. If a bee line
were made across the gulch a grade of
4-8 per cent., or a rise of 253J feet in the
distance would be required. Such a gra-
dient would be prohibitive on a trunk line,
as it would approach the maximum allowed
generally upon a high road for vehicular
traffic. So the engineer carried the line
around the head of the valley in the form
of a huge horseshoe. From end to end of
the curve, and measuring along the central
of the four tracks, the distance is 2'7 miles.
Although, by making the detour, the
mileage is nearly trebled between the two
points as compared with a straight line
through the air, the grade is pulled down
from about 1 in 21 to 1 in 58.

On the South African railways travellers

• • -L

ONE OF THE SPIRAL TUNNELS ON THE
ST. GOTTHARD RAILWAY.

Showing the upper and lower tunnel mouths. The
line makes a corkscrew ascent in the heart of the
mountain to overcome the abrupt difference an level.

GETTING OUT OF TIGHT CORNERS

on the Maritzburg-Greytown line encounter
the famous " balloon." This has nothing
to do with aeronautics, as the name might
imply, but is merely the colloquial descrip-
tion of the curious loop whereby the train
is enabled to overcome the summit after
climbing to an altitude of 860 feet in 7 miles.
The name arose because the plan of the
location on paper bears a striking resem-
blance to the pear-shape of the inflated gas-
bag of a balloon. The loop has a radius of
300 feet, with a maximum gradient of 1 in
30, and at the neck of the balloon one
track is 60 feet below the other.

For the most part, however, such inter-

esting instances of development work are
being eliminated from the great railways.
Zigzags, switchbacks, spirals, loops are
giving way, wherever practicable, to straight
sections or easy curves, with the intro-
duction of the rack railway and combined
adhesion and cog-wheel locomotives to over-
come abrupt changes in level. Tunnelling
also is being adopted more freely as a
solution, notwithstanding the heavier initial
expense, in order to dispense with these
evidences of engineering ingenuity, as the
latter exercises a very appreciable aug-
menting influence upon the expense of
running a railway.

•

TRAVELLING MILES TO CLIMB A FEW FEET.
The ascent of the Divide on the Moffat Road, showing the big loop

THE TONOPAH AND TIDEWATER RAILWAY IN DEATH VALLEY.

The engine hauls its water supplies. This photograph gives a striking idea of the sterile

character of the country.

The Conquest of Death Valley

HOW THE RAILWAY WAS DRIVEN THROUGH THE ALKALI DESERT OF NEVADA

HEN the steel ribbon was to be
flung across Nevada's sizzling
waste of alkali between Ludlow
and Rhyolite, the name for the
enterprise seemed obvious, if
prosaic. But suddenly some-
one referred to the under-
as the " Tonopah and Tidewater
One of the engineers is

taking
Railway."

credited with the expression, which must
have been perpetrated in an outburst of
cynical jest, seeing that the railway was
to run neither to Tonopah nor to Tide-
water. However, the two " T's " proved
irresistible, and forthwith the undertaking
was given the alliterative title. Since then
it has redeemed its application somewhat,
as the northern end now does connect with

Tonopah, but the southern extremity is as
far from the coast as ever ; access thereto
is provided over the tracks of the Atchison,
Topeka and Santa Fe system, which runs
through Ludlow on its western way to the
Pacific seaboard.

Yet the engineer's inspiration was timely.
Otherwise a lugubrious name, adapted to
the surroundings, might have been evolved,
because this important road traverses a dis-
mal country where sinister sobriquets and
grim traditions abound. It offers an easy
approach to the ill-famed Death Valley,
threads the lifeless Armagossa Canyon,
skirts the Funeral Range, and carries the
passenger to the purlieus of Skeleton Peak.

The few strange workers in this inhos-
pitable corner of the world would have

144

THE CONQUEST OF DEATH VALLEY

145

remedied the deficiency of title very
promptly but for the engineer's ingenuity ;
they have a grim humour which is fitted
peculiarly to circumstances. It does not de-
mand a very vivid imagination to conjure
such baptisms as the " Skeleton and Death
Valley Fast Line " or the " Funeral Trunk
Road." But, being forestalled by the
engineer, and the alliterative title effectively
combating all efforts to be superseded, the
desert toilers have been forced to content
themselves with nicknaming the trains,
"The Skeleton Limited," "The Death
Valley Express," " The Fast Funeral," and
so forth.

Yet the " T. & T." railway itself is no
joke. In fact, it ranks as one of the most
important lines in the State. By linking
up with the " Bullfrog-Goldfield " and
Tonopah railways it offers a short cut
across the length of Nevada. From end to
end it traverses blistering desert, where the
stunted cactus only can secure a root-
hold, and where the coyotes and rattle-
snakes are the predominant representatives
of animal life.

Probably in no other corner of the North
American continent is absolute sterility
emphasised in such compelling form as the
district served by the " T. & T." railway
throughout its length of 175 miles. For
years Death Valley was shunned as if
stricken with the plague, and the surround-
ing desert was aptly described, with its
eternal temperature ranging from 100°
upwards, both day and night, as " Hades
with the lid off." Its ill-sounding name
is singularly apt, as it has been the
graveyard of pioneers innumerable. Even
the roving desert Indians, accustomed as
they are to parched stretches of country
and a precarious existence, give the " valley
of skulls " a wide berth. Many intrepid
spirits penetrated its silent, baking fast-
nesses, but few returned. The majority
of those who limped back into civilisation
were little else than living skeletons, with
shattered nerves and unbalanced minds.
19

Notwithstanding this grim atmosphere,
Death Valley ever has exercised an ir-
resistible fascination to those who will
not be baulked by any opposition of
Nature in the eternal struggle for exist-
ence. The valley reeks with wealth in-
calculable. As a rule, it is the Golden
Fleece which tempts the hardy and devil-
may-care ; but in this instance it was
another magnet — borax. The world can-
not roll along to-day without this com-
modity, and Death Valley is chock full of
it. The floor of the depression — a lake in
times gone by — is carpeted with soda and
borax to a depth which never has been
sounded.

The bold and daring were not prepared
to let this opportunity to amass wealth

0 Stone Cabin

r^T

MAP OF THE DEATH VALLEY RAILWAY.

146

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

to pass without a determined effort to
materialise some castle in the air. Small
parties of gaunt, riotous, happy-go-lucky
humans, who cannot occupy a niche within
civilisation's bounds, started out to reach
this grim, silent world. What cared they
for the Red Man's advice to keep away :
the Indian was an ignorant waster. The
world demanded borax, and borax it
should have, come what might. It was a
straggling, terrible trek. Many collapsed
on the way, and their bleaching bones gave
a mute warning to those who came behind.
Those who reached their goal waded in
wealth and lived in caves. They became
a race apart — ill-kempt, cadaverous, with
beady eyes which glittered from fiery red
sockets. They lived a prehistoric life, and
were promptly described " desert rats "
by those who were content to toil in more
congenial surroundings.

The success of these hardy, adventur-
ous, and plucky prospectors tempted the
capitalists. The " rats," al-

!^TI!f , though they had found riches

Death Valley J

Express." beyond compute, were with-

out all means of transport-
ing their wealth to the markets. So they
were financed to consummate this end. The
desert demanded peculiar methods. These
were forthcoming. Huge boxed vehicles,
slung on large wheels without springs and
with tyres 7 inches in width to prevent
sinking in the soft sand, were built at a
cost of £200 or so apiece, and were hauled
by teams of mules, which, in their labour-
ing over the blinding, thirst-torturing
desert, became as gaunt as their human
colleagues. Every train had hitched behind
a capacious water wagon and a commis-
sariat car wherewith the inner wants of
both man and beast might be assuaged
during the journey. It was a primitive
train, and it rattled so slowly to and fro
that the " rats " in their grim jocularity
dubbed it " The Death Valley Express."

But things move quickly even in the
desert when commercial development gets

into its stride. One hardened prospector
returned to the cities with specimens of
low grade nitre, which he said abounded in
plenty ; another brought finds of copper ; a
third stumbled upon traces of silver ; while
immediately north of the country gold was
found in rich paying veins.

The inevitable happened : the railway
must be run into the country. That and
nothing else could bring the region within
the compass of commercial expansion and
development. So the " T. & T." railway
was born. A small band of surveyors set
out from Las Vegas, the nearest station
on the San Pedro and Salt Lake City
Railroad, to drive their way westwards
between the Charlston and Kingston moun-
tain ranges into the sinister gulch. They
brought back a feasible project, which was
adopted without delay.

Construction was hurried forward. Large
gangs of navvies, accustomed to driving
the steel through the desert,
were brought up with vast
supplies of material and pro-
visions. Las Vegas was to be their base,
and they were to move forward like an
invading army across the scorching wastes,
with the completed track ever on the heels
of all to bring up food and water, because
the country traversed could not yield a
drop of drinkable liquid nor an ounce of
foodstuff.

Although a promising start was made
with the grade, the enterprise was not pro-
ceeding smoothly. A dispute arose between
the new concern and the railway with
which it was linked, and the former was
aggrieved. Quietly the " T. & T." ap-
proached the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa
Fe system to see whether it could not be
linked up with them. At the same time
the surveyors were sent into the desert
once more to plot a new route, in the
event of the latest deliberations proving
successful.

One evening in September, 1906, all
the men working on the grade out from

THE CONQUEST OF DEATH VALLEY

147

Las Vegas received a curt summons to
" down tools." At the same time they
were ordered to load all immediate require-
ments into a waiting train, and the desert
had long been wrapped in the mantle
of night ere the hurried task was
completed. Then the navvies were
ordered to take their seats, and
without any fuss whatever the train
steamed away to the south-west.

When the morning broke Las Vegas
was deserted. Not a navvy was to
be seen on the grade ; there was not
a single tool lying about. What was
the matter ? Had the new line
met early sudden death ? Yet what
seemed to be an inscrutable mystery
was soon solved by the ticking of the
telegraph wires. The train which
had departed so hurriedly overnight,
ostensibly for the west, had stopped
at the little station of Ludlow, on
the Atchison, Topeka and Sante Fe
line. The tools and supplies had
been pitched out, and the navvies
were toiling for all they were worth
upon a new grade. The San Pedro
line had been thrown overboard : a
rival had given what they had
refused.

The engineers and their army of
one thousand nondescript, hardened
navvies set to work with great gusto :
time had been lost on the initial un-
availing start at Las Vegas. The
standard gauge was adopted, since
Tonopah was not the ultimate limit
of northern railway travel.

Tradition, history, and superstition de-
manded elaborate precautions to preserve
the humans slaving on the semi-roasting
dust in laying the bond of steel.

The railway grader is a curious indi-
vidual. He will labour hard and long
uncomplainingly, tolerate unmerciful cli-
matic conditions without a murmur, and
suffer isolation ungrudgingly so long as he
is well fed. Moving a force of a thousand

men over a pitiless desert is anxious work
under the best conditions. While the
navvies were busy wrestling with the heat
and sand the controlling forces were ab-

THE

TRACK THROUGH THE BLISTERING BORAX AND
NITRE GULCHES,

sorbed in keeping the front well supplied
with every little requirement. At night,
when the graders had rolled themselves in
their blankets and had laid down to a
hard well-earned rest, the engineers in
their little office at Ludlow worked far
into the darkness, completing their techni-
cal duties for the morrow under the nicker-
ing glimmer of oil lamps. Often the
eastern sky had become well suffused with
the coming dawn before they turned in for

148

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

an hour or two's repose on the floor of
their shack.

The construction camps were flung out
over the drab desert for a distance of 20
miles beyond the point where the last rail
was laid. Supplies were sent up by train
as far as possible and then shifted onwards

their fill of toiling in the silent desert, and
brought them back.

The awful loneliness, torrid heat, dust-
laden atmosphere, and silence were the great
foes against which the navvies had to con-
tend. When their day's work was done
there were no welcome relaxations, except

IfctY-

% n • M

A HEAVY STRETCH OF TRESTLING.
Every piece of timber had to be hauled several hundred miles.

by mule teams. Beyond the rail-head
straggled a pioneer telephone line, hur-
riedly built and of a most crazy-looking
character, it is true, yet it kept the engineers
in touch with the most distant camp. When
an accident befell one of the men the
engineers miles behind knew all about it
within two or three seconds of its occur-
rence and were able to communicate tem-
porary measures until the injured could
receive the proper attention, which was
sent forward without delay. Once a day
the wheezy, borax-bleached construction
engine crawled to the end of the steel high-
way with its tanks of water for the men,
and rails, sleepers, comestibles, clothing,
and letters. When it had shed its load it
picked up those labourers who had received

of their own creation, to wile away enforced
leisure. Under such circumstances it is
not surprising that gambling becomes the
worst peccadillo of the hardened grader.
They followed this amusement until its
monotony palled, they were broken in
pocket, or it failed to provide sufficient
exhilaration.

Nevada has always enjoyed the reputa-
tion of being a quaint state where the
laws are observed in a peculiar way, where
the ideas of capital and labour have an
unusual interpretation, and where Jack
insists that he is better than his master.
But on this undertaking there was never
the slightest hitch or difficulty. The
engineers took elaborate care that the
inflammable prevaricator, alcohol, did not

THE CONQUEST OF DEATH VALLEY

149

invade the camps. Tea, coffee, and cocoa
are not very powerful stimulants to quar-
relling, and so the camps, with their rough-
and-ready and riotously inclined inmates,
were compelled to settle down in the
manner of big families. Fortunately, it was
not a difficult matter to secure prohibition.
Illegal traders, who generally profit from
such nefarious trade, did not appreciate
the dangerous circuitous tramp over the
desert : the risks were too great.

It was when the railway entered the
Armagossa Canyon that the most diffi-
cult work was encountered. For

Swamp" Part of the ycar this "sink"
is a borax swamp ; for the

remainder it is an oven. The railway
clings somewhat to the mountain side,
and a gallery had to be blasted and hewn
out, deep cuts driven through friable hills,
and yawning depressions filled with the
unstable spoil or spanned by lofty timber
trestles. The slender line of communica-
tion was taxed heavily, inasmuch as every
ounce of material had to be brought in ;
the country did not yield anything of
value to the builders beyond earth for the
grade. If a cord of wood were required
for the camp fire, then the telephone
clanged frantically, and the fuel was hur-
ried up with as much speed as a consign-
ment of spikes to clinch the rails to the
sleepers.

It was a dreary northward pull. The
mountain sides, catching the fierce heat

of the sun, acted like firebricks
and thaVVy anc^ ren<ected a sultry glow when
Desert. the sun had dipped behind the

Sierras, so that night brought
practically no relief. In the heart of this
arid blotch upon the American landscape
rises the Armagossa River, a stream of
saturated soda and borax which, after
running for a few miles, comes to a stop in
a basin to dry up under the fierce heat
of the summer sun or to be absorbed by
the surrounding waste of borax, soda, nitre,
and what not. As the graders pushed farther

and farther into the dismal zone they be-
came more and more sullen. The desert
navvy is not a very loquacious individual
at the best of times ; but when his senses
became dulled by the everlasting glow of
glistening white he became taciturn almost
to dumbness. To him there appeared to
be only one object in life — to swing his
tools mechanically for hour after hour with
measured strokes, with intervals for re-
freshment. One wonders how men can be
tempted to work under such conditions as
these. The reason is not far to seek. Being
toil of an unusual character, it receives en-
hanced pay. Desert enterprises have cul-
tivated a peculiar type of navvy — a special-
ist in his craft, as it were. No greenhorns
and tcnderfeet were to be found on such
work as this. A week or a month found
them out ; they were only too anxious to
get as far away from Death Valley as they
could.

As the graders drew near the haunted
depression they secured a little relaxation :
were confronted with fresh

faces. The " desert rats " came Thrf

" Desert
out of their holes and burrows Rats."

to watch the advance of the steel
highway. As companions they were not
a success. Locked up in the mountains,
they had only tatters of news to discuss
round the camp fires. They emerged rather
for the purpose of hearing something from
the graders. When all available items of
news were worn threadbare the trend of
conversation took a new turn, and some
of the stories related round the camp fire
when the day's work was done would make
a town-dweller's blood run cold.

About 100 miles north of Ludlow a spur
radiates from the main track into the heart
of the Funeral Range, with road communi-
cation into Death Valley itself. Death
Valley station is an important junction,
and the " rats " will tell you that it is
going to be " the ro'r'nes' place on earth."
Three stations beyond is Gold Centre,
whence the " T. & T." swings off west-

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

wards to Rhyolite. The traveller, deter-
mined to get to Tonopah, continues over
the Bullfrog railroad to Goldfield, and
thence to Tonopah on the northernmost
rim of the desert. Thence the journey may
be resumed by rail northwards through
Carson City, finally gaining the Union
Pacific Railway. Prior to the construc-
tion of the " T. & T." the great systems
of the country described a big loop around
the State of Nevada, as if fearing to ven-
ture too far into its arid wastes, so that
to pass from Los Angeles to Carson City
involved a long detour, either via San
Francisco or by way of Salt Lake City.
Now one is able to cut across the length
of the State speedily and in comfort.

When at last the railway was completed
and the day of its official opening arrived,

the event was celebrated in true
Triumph Ncvacia fashion. All the great
Railway, mining centres along the line let

themselves go in the manner of
the untamed West. The " rats " came down
from the hills, and the miners came up
from the depths with super-loads of cart-
ridges. The train was greeted with a
salvo from " automatics " and " bull-dogs,"
with a few detonations of giant powder
and nitro-glycerine that had been left over
from the construction work or brought
in from the mines just to add foundation
to the torrent of sound. Alcohol ran like
water, or rather more furiously than the
latter liquid, as the Nevada desert culti-
vates an insatiable thirst. There were
speeches galore, and poets let themselves
go with the vehemence born of spring.
In fact, the stranger happening upon the
scene might have been pardoned for think-
ing that he was the witness to the opening
of a transcontinental, rather than a mere
200 miles of railway through a sun-baked
desert. But the engineer had broken down
the most grim and unsavoury comer of
the continent, and that was worth all the
jubilation expended.

Already the " T. & T." railway is making
its presence felt. The communities scat-
tered along the route, which formerly
were designated mining camps, now scorn
such an appellation. Every one is a " city "
— or will be some day. The respective
populations are increasing. The valley
which has been silent and feared for so
long is commencing to echo the droning of
heavy machinery, which is being brought
in to win the wealth from the dismal sink
and shimmering brown mountains. Roads
are being driven hither and thither to
facilitate communication between the rail-
way and the outermost parts of this wealthy
country. " This railway means the open-
ing of 20,000 square miles," one enthusiast
remarked to me, and certainly such an
expansion in a single stroke is a notable
triumph for engineering science. Ludlow
is coming into its own. From a handful of
shacks standing beside a wayside station,
which would never have been built but
for a mine some seven miles away, it has
grown into a hustling town and important
railway divisional point, with engine sheds,
miles of sidings, and repair shops. To-
day the shacks spread far out over the
flat, dusty country ; there are streets,
public institutions, and every other attri-
bute that goes to constitute a prosperous,
enthusiastic community.

The future of the " T. & T." railway
undoubtedly is governed by the develop-
ment of the minerals abounding
in the Death Valley country.
But no apprehensions need be «T. & T."
entertained on this score. Pros-
pecting is being carried out upon an elabor-
ate and scientific scale, possibly to reveal
minerals which so far have not been identi-
fied with the country. Still, the output of
soda, borax, nitre, silver, copper, and gold
will suffice to return adequate dividends
upon the money sunk in the effort to
conquer this forbidding, scorched and ill-
famed spot.

An "Ice Railway" Locomotive

A DEVICE THAT HAS REVOLUTIONISED THE LUMBER INDUSTRY

OF NORTH AMERICA

I/THOUGH the ordinary steel
highway is harassed and often
disorganised completely by the
forces of winter, owing to
the locomotive being unable
to drive its way through the
piled banks of snow, there is
a certain type of " railway " which is
inoperative unless the ground is snow-
bound and frozen.

This is the " ice railway." Strictly
speaking it is not a railway, since the
vehicles do not run along a pair of metals.
But at the same
time it demands
a defined track,
the pathway be-
ing two parallel
ruts. The loco-
motive is a hybrid,
being a combina-
tion of the rail-
way engine, trac-
tion engine and
steam-driven
automobile. The
vehicles, instead
of being carried
on wheels, are
mounted upon
long runners
which engage in
and follow the
ruts.

The " ice rail-
way " has under-
gone considerable
development dur-
ing the past few

years. It was created to meet the
requirements of the lumbering industry.
In this field of human activity the con-
ditions are somewhat peculiar. The re-
moval of the enormous logs brought down
by the woodsman bristles with difficulties.
The lumber-jack comes with the winter,
when the ground is carpeted with snow
two, three, or more feet in depth, and
littered with huge drifts. Under such
conditions ordinary systems of transporta-
tion are absolutely impracticable. Other
industries which are isolated from the

ONE ENGINE OK THE ICE LOCOMOTIVE.

Showing inverted cylinders, and power transmission. A similar engine is
mounted upon the opposite side of the frame.

152

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

A HEAVY LUMBER TRAIN.
A pilot sits on the front of the locomotive steering the leading runners by means of a wheel.

steel arteries of communication remedy
such a defect by laying down a narrow
gauge light line between their mills and
the trunk roads. But in the lumbering
districts of Canada and the United States
such links of communication, even if
provided, would be useless, as they would
be snowed-up and impassable at the very
time when traffic reaches its highest
pressure.

The result is that in the lumbering trade
horses and oxen play a very important part
in hauling the timber from forest to mill,
and from mill to railway. The logs, balks,
boards, or what not, are piled on heavy
sleds. But the movement is slow ; the
capacity of the train load is limited severely
by the number and strength of the beasts
available. Moreover, animal traction is
expensive ; difficulties arise in connection
with foraging ; while the cost of mainten-
ance is just as heavy when traffic is at a

standstill as during periods of activity,
because the creatures must be fed, and
well too, to keep them fit for their arduous
labour.

Realising the shortcomings of animal
transportation, the Phcenix Manufacturing
Company of Eau Claire contrived a loco-
motive which could be run over an ice
track as easily as its prototype can be
driven over the steel highway. With
infinite labour, and after innumerable
peculiar problems had been solved, an
engine was contrived and sent up into
the forests of Wisconsin to prove its
worth ; to show how far it could compete
with animal methods ; and to determine
the extent of its application.

The experiment was a complete success ;
steam haulage over the ice-way proved so
superior to the animals that a demand for
these locomotives arose on all sides. The
development was opportune. The demand

AN "ICE RAILWAY" LOCOMOTIVE

153

for lumber was exceeding supply, and
means of doubling and trebling the output
with less expense were being sought dili-
gently. The teams, as a rule, could not
handle more than 1,500 feet of timber,
even under the best conditions. Even then
unremitting care had to be bestowed upon
the roads, so as to keep them in the pink
of condition to facilitate movement.

The ice locomotive revolutionised the
situation. Bigger sleds could be built
and loaded with three times as much
lumber, while two or three such vehicles
could be hitched to a single engine, which
thus accomplished the work of 20 or 39
animals in half the time. The lumbering
industries also discovered the significance
of another item. The locomotive cost
money only when it was performing useful
service. When condemned to inactivity
it did not " eat its head off," as was the
case with the animals.

The future of the ice locomotive was

assured ; the firm responsible for the
creation found itself overwhelmed with
orders. The engine was improved ex-
tensively as a result of experience acquired
under practical conditions, and to-day
these locomotives are found in all parts
of the country, hauling formidable trains
of sleds, each laden with 15,000 feet or
more of timber.

The boiler, of the locomotive type,
designed for a steam pressure of 200 Ibs.
per square inch, is 15 feet long by 36 inches
in diameter, and is mounted upon a heavy
reinforced channel iron frame. There is
a large fire-box, adapted to burn either
coal or wood. It is an easy steamer, and
economic in coal consumption — a vital
factor seeing that coal invariably is a costly
item in the lumbering districts. Similarity
to the railway engine is enhanced by the
cab provided for the driver and the fireman.

The engine is carried upon a leading
" bogie " having a couple of massive

A BIG LOAD.

The size of the stacks of sawn timber mounted
upon each sled may be gathered from com-
parison with the crew.

154

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The
Engine.

runners. On the front of the engine is a
large wheel, with a seat, so that steering
is carried out upon the broad lines of the
automobile. The driving or traction device
recalls the caterpillar tractor. There is a
heavy iron shaft, 4| inches in diameter,
which carries on each side of the engine
two weighty steel runners. A pair of massive
boxes in which runs a heavy steel sprocket
wheel is attached to each end of these
runners. The sprockets mesh with, and
carry, a tread or lag chain, 12 inches wide
by 14 feet in length, which, securing a
purchase upon the road surface, propels
the locomotive. On the inner side of the
chain-drive, and running in a steel channel
attached to the underside of the steel shoe,
are two roller chains. Each runner is
fitted in this manner.

The engine has four cylinders of 6j
inches diameter by 8 inch stroke, two
cylinders being disposed on
each side, and bolted to the
boiler and frame. Each pair of
engines is fitted with link motion. The
power is transmitted from the engine to
the driving chains through a spur pinion
mounted on the crank shaft, and a pinion
mounted on the front end of the driving
shafts. Bevel pinions are attached to the
rear ends of these driving shafts, and these
mesh with large bevel gears carried on
the ends of the fixed shaft or rear axles.
They also have spur gears, which transmit
the power through the intermediate gearing
to another spur gear mounted on the shaft
to which the rear sprocket is keyed, this
being the driven sprocket.

The locomotive is built on heavy lines

so as to be able to withstand hard work.

The cab fittings are of the

Sp<:e,d usual railway locomotive type,
and Load.

with quadrant and lever for

reversing. In running order the engine
weighs about 19 tons, and with the steam
pressure at 200 Ibs. about 100 horse-power
is developed. The average speed is from
4 to 5 miles per hour over a good track,

though of course this feature is governed
by the severity of the grades, curvature,
and the load. Here, as in railway practice,
the easier the grade and the more open the
curves, the higher the speed and the
heavier the load hauled. Under good
conditions an engine can draw a train of
15 vehicles loaded with 5,000 to 7,000
feet of logs per sled. The train crew
comprises three men — the driver, fireman,
and the pilot or steersman. So far as fuel
consumption is concerned, from Ij to Ij
tons of good steam coal will suffice for a
10-hour run. Water facilities have to be
provided at intervals of five or six miles,
and if this commodity is scarce then a
tank wagon on runners similar to a tender
is attached to the engine.

The vehicles themselves vary according
to the prevailing conditions. If circum-
stances permit of the laying of a wide road,
a gauge of 7 or 8 feet can be used to distinct
advantage. The load stowed thereon may
range from 10,000 to 20,000 feet. In such
cases the over-all width of the load at the
base may easily represent 16 feet, the logs
being held in position by chains passed
round the whole and tightened up to keep
the load steady.

Successful operation is governed by the
care expended upon the preparation of the
road. A good track with easy

banks and curves eases the P,rePfra" on.

of the Road.

strain upon the locomotive
very considerably. When the snow has
packed well and frozen hard, an excellent
surface is offered, and the careful distribu-
tion of water over this surface, converting
it to the semblance of a sheet of glass,
especially in the ruts, enables heavy loads
and good speed to be maintained with the
minimum of wear and tear.

The work which can be accomplished by
these powerful locomotives is astonishing.
They may be seen puffing and snorting in
the dense forests of the Middle and Western
States and the backwoods of Canada. The
heart of the Canadian lumber industry of

•a
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156

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Western Canada is around Prince Albert,
where many of these little giants are at
work. They may be seen toiling in a
temperature ranging from 30 to 55 degrees
below zero, drawing loads of 80,000 feet
or more of green lumber over distances of
60 miles a day. Though the grades appear
to be somewhat adverse, the train of seven
sleds, large water tank, and caboose for
the train crews, seems to make light of
them. One lumbering firm in Minnesota,
which has a 10-mile road, makes two round
trips a day with a load of six vehicles, and
accomplishes for £14, including an allow-
ance of £3 per day for wear and tear, what
would require 48 horses in twelve teams at
a cost of £30.

At times these engines have to perform
herculean work, especially when the
country is swept by blizzards.
Then the snow roads are buried
beneath huge drifts, deep enough
to swallow the engine. One
firm had to hitch an improvised snow-
plough to the engine, and for 16 miles the
train and crew had a stiff fight for every
yard of the way. They turned round and
found the snow had drifted just as badly,
completely obliterating the road once more.
It was another tedious drive over the 16
miles on the homeward jaunt, but the
train got through, and only an hour or
so behind her usual time. Some idea of
the significance of this performance may be
judged from the fact that on the railways
traversing the self-same country, double-

Some
Good
Records.

headers had to be used to get through the
drifts, and even then the trains were
running from four to twelve hours late.

At another camp, the train comprising
from 7 to 10 sleds, had to work contin-
uously day and night over a

track about 18 miles in length, One E"gine

=72 Horses.

the crews being changed at
the end of each round trip. In this case
the one engine did the work of 72 horses,
and during the season handled 2,500,000
feet of pine, 100,000 posts, 3,000 railway
sleepers, 200 cords of pulp-wood, and some
50 sled-loads of provisions and other stock.
The greatest difficulty that the lumbering
interests experience in connection with these
locomotives and trains is in regard to
loading up. Not only are heavy delays
incurred from this cause, owing to the
scarcity of labour, but often the train has
to start off with a lighter load than she
could haul with ease.

Although this ice locomotive is virtually
an asset of and peculiar to the North
American continent, it has made its debut
in Europe. An ice track has been laid
down in Finland, and one of these im-
ported engines has been put to work. This
experiment is being followed closely by
European interests, inasmuch as there is
remarkable scope for such a system of
transportation throughout the timber
stretches of Russia and Siberia, where
lumbering as an industry has achieved a
higher stage of development than in the
New World.

THE FLOODING OF THE SEVERN TUNNEL.

Owing to the water breaking into and flooding the workings, boring was brought to a standstill

until Diver Lambert volunteered to penetrate the heading to close a heavy door isolating the

affected section, in which daring task he was successful.

i tit

Photograph supplied by the Great Western Railway Co.

ONE OF BRUNEL'S TIMBER VIADUCTS IN CORNWALL. SINCE REPLACED IN STEEL.

The Great Western Railway

THE STORY OF BRUNEL'S GREAT ENGINEERING FEATS IN LINKING UP LONDON

AND THE WEST

T was the success of the Liver-
pool and Manchester Railway
which was responsible for the
projection of a means of con-
necting Bristol to London by the
steel highway, as a faster alter-
native way of communication
to the circuitous canal route then in vogue.
Directly the suggestion came before the
public it received the inevitable hostile
criticism, because the projectors were tread-
ing on the toes of scores of other interests,
who viewed the Stephenson invention with
undisguised disfavour.

The scheme languished for many years,
until at last in 1832 a strong influential
committee was formed to carry the idea
into effect. This commercial body knew

nothing about the technical problems in-
volved, and they cast about for an engineer.
Among the aspirants was that engineering
genius Isambard Kingdom Brunei, then
only twenty-seven years of age. Although
young, he had already carved out a unique
reputation, and he carried the day ; and
became the first engineer of the Great
Western Railway.

Although the promoters only intended
to connect London with Bristol, they
failed to secure the necessary support.
Accordingly they decided to construct
the line piecemeal, so that when the first
application was made to Parliament it
was for two pieces of line running respec-
tively from London to Reading, 36 miles,
and from Bristol to Bath, about 10 miles.

158

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The interests supporting the scheme con-
cluded that if these wedges were driven
home it would be an easy matter to span
the intervening gap of 72 miles. Even

by one or two of the directors, the young
engineer's connection with the railway
would have terminated abruptly.

As events proved, Brunei made a big

then they experienced a stiff uphill fight blunder in the very beginning. Stephenson

Photograph supplied
A FAMOUS "FLYER" OF THE BROAD GAUGE ERA.

•71 Rail-way Co.

owing to the strength of opposing vested
interests, so that it was not until August
31st, 1835, that King William IV. appended
his signature to the London and Bristol
Railway Bill.

In his constructional work Brunei was
harassed by some of his controlling asso-
ciates. He did not progress so rapidly as
they desired. On more than one occasion
he was within an ace of being superseded ;
proposals to bring in George Stephenson
to straighten matters out were made fre-
quently. When the line was opened it
proved sadly lacking in many construc-
tional respects, and there is no doubt but
that for the unswerving support extended

had adopted what is known now as the
standard gauge, viz. a width of 4 feet
8 1 inches from centre to centre of each
pair of rails. This has been designated as
a clumsy, haphazard decision, but Stephen-
son appears to have been content with
what satisfied the world as he found it.
The existing vehicles using the high roads,
lanes, and tramways of the mines in the
north had a certain gauge. Stephenson
naturally carried out his experiments on
this gauge, which eventually came to be
adopted for the railways built shortly after
his invention had proved its worth. The
standard gauge often has been assailed
as too narrow, but the mistake was not

THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY

159

Stephenson's by any means. He merely
adapted his radical revolution to existing
ideas.

On the other hand, Brunei considered
this gauge unsuited to high speed, carrying
capacity, and safety. So he elaborated a
gauge of his own, 7 feet, Oj inches, and
strangely enough this was adopted for the
Great Western. Certainly he justified his
contentions, but they afforded no argument.

There is no doubt that Brunei was sup-
ported in his gauge ideas by the desire to
create a monopoly for the Great

The " Battle Western. In the early days of
of the J J

Gauges." railway building the country

was divided off into zones, and
the concerns interested in railway transpor-
tation agreed to respect certain boundaries.
Interchange of traffic was the last thought
entertained — at least, by Brunei, though it
was foreseen by Stephenson and others.
The " Battle of the Gauges " was waged
keenly in Great Britain, but the narrower
gauge won, the Great Western Railway had
to bow to the inevitable, and was forced
to the Stephenson gauge, although the
change was not effected until 1892. By
means of a third rail to standard guage
inter-working had, however, been practised
for some time.

But if Brunei proved to be in error in

regard to the question of gauge, he was

far more perspicacious con-

GreatelGrade. cerning the overwhelming
advantage possessed by the
straight level line. In running the surveys
he kept down banks and avoided sharp
curvature. The advantage of this is shown
to-day. True, overhaul has been necessary,
but it has not involved wholesale revision
and reconstruction of the road, as has been
the case in other parts of the world. The
Great Western now is practically as Brunei
left it concerning location ; it merely has
been improved in accordance with the
marches of railway progress. Brunei aimed
at high speeds, and big running perform-
ances, which explains why the Great

Western Railway is one of the finest and
fastest railway galloping grounds in the
world, enabling trains to run the 118 miles
between London and Bristol in 120 minutes,
as well as the establishment of the longest
and quickest non-stop runs — 143 miles to
Taunton in 150 minutes ; 174 miles to
Exeter in 180 minutes ; and 225f miles to
Plymouth in 247 minutes.

The first 23 miles of the railway out of
London were completed to Maidenhead
in 1838. It was a badly-built stretch of
track, and the public were loud in their
complaint concerning oscillation and jolting.
The question to decide was how much was
due to the permanent way and how much
to the rolling stock. Under the weight of
the trains the track went all to pieces within
a very short time. Brunei, with character-
istic courage, acknowledged that the road
was in a bad state and divined two reasons
for its break-up — insufficient ballasting, or
the use of fine instead of coarse gravel.
The logical solution was attempted. Two
half-mile stretches of track were ballasted
upon divergent lines to test the respective
values of each method.

The following instances afford some idea
of the quaint opposition which railway
projects received in those
days : The town of Maiden-
head rose up in arms against
the railway because it approached their
boundaries too closely. On the other hand,
Windsor became fiercely hostile because
it left them too far to one side. Eton
College regarded the line with deep-rooted
objection, and brought an action to prevent
the railway establishing a station at Slough.
This effort received the scant consideration
it deserved ; it was dismissed. A little
later the self-same authorities requested
the company to provide a train at the
disputed stopping-place in order to convey
the boys to London. Some of the farmers
adjoining the right of way grew appre-
hensive that the smoke would suffocate
their live stock, while residents firmly

i6o

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

believed that they would be driven frantic
by the noise of the passing trains.

The River Thames offered the first
serious obstacle to the western advance of
the railway. At this point the river is
some 207 feet in width, and divided near

in. The administration, after Brunei had
made an inspection, held the contractor
responsible for the damage, and compelled
him to repair it. In the meantime the
most extraordinary stories relative to the
incident had been circulated, and it was

Photograph supplied by the Great It'tstern Kail-way Co.
SLIPPING TWO COACHES OFF THE UP AMERICAN MAIL WHILE TRAVELLING AT 60 MILES PER HOUR.

the centre by a shoal. As the banks are
somewhat low, and the gradient is main-
tained on either side, Brunei was somewhat
hampered in his design so as to not encroach
too much upon the headroom for navigation.
He decided to introduce two main spans,
each of 128 feet, and with a very flat
elliptical arch. Brick was selected, and
the work ranks as one of the largest struc-
tures of its kind ever attempted in this
constructional material. Its erection, how-
ever, was not free from incident. The
contractor, no doubt harried somewhat by
the powers above, took away the centres too
soon, with the result that a deformation set

only with difficulty that the anxiety of the
shareholders was allayed.

By March, 1840, the original proposal
was completed ; the line was opened to
Reading, and in the same year the Bristol
to Bath section was finished. Without any
delay the line was continued from each end
so as to close the gap in the communication
between Bristol and London. Going west-
wards little difficulty was experienced,
inasmuch as the country threaded is fairly
level, but coming eastwards from Bath the
13 miles were somewhat heavy, involving the
introduction of two steep banks of 1 in 100
— the Wootton Bassett and the Box — on

THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY

161

which a " double header " or a " pusher " was from Bristol to Exeter, built by another
engine had to be used for several years, company and opened in 1844. In due
In this section the engineer also had to course came the South Devon and Corn-
drive the Box Tunnel, 3,212 yards in length, wall lines. The various sections being in
which, however, did not prove a very connection, it was possible to travel by
diflicult undertaking, owing to the regular rail from London to Plymouth and
character of the rock encountered, although beyond. When the Great Western Rail-
it occupied some time. At last, on June way had become firmly established, a

riiotcgrapli supplied I'y Greaf II estern Ra
THE AMERICAN BOAT EXPRESS LEAVING FISHGUARD FOR LONDON.

30th, 1841, the original project was realised ;
the London and Bristol Railway was opened.

The original line, forming the basis of
the Great Western Railway, always has
been famous for the high running speeds
attained thereon. Certainly the location
and alignment are conducive to this result.
Between the two points the railway only
has to rise to a matter of 270 feet above
the metropolis, and then drop 292 feet
into Bristol. Of the 118 miles no less
than 67 either are level or rise only
4 feet per mile, while another 47 miles
have grades ranging between 4 and 8 feet
per mile. The remaining section is made
up of the two short banks, rising 1 in 100,
against eastbound traffic.

As may be supposed, while this railway

was under construction, further lines in

conjunction therewith were projected and

carried into effect. An obvious extension

policy of absorption was followed, so that
slowly but surely innumerable short links
were bought up and amalgamated with
the parent concern. Under this policy the
company became entrenched firmly through-
out the south-west and west of England.

Through railway travelling between Lon-
don and Cornwall was broken at Plymouth
by the broad Tamar, which at this point is
1,100 feet wide, with a depth of 80 feet
at high water. At first the obstacle
appeared to be so formidable that a steam
ferry was projected, but at last it was
realised that a bridge was the true link of
communication, and a point at Saltash
was selected for the crossing. A design
was prepared, to be executed in timber,
having one span of 225 feet, and six spans
each of 105 feet. Doubtless this project
would have been undertaken had the
Government not interfered. Devonport

l62

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

naval base is close by, and the Admiralty
insisted that the waterway should be kept
clear, that at least 100 feet of headway
should be provided, and that there should
be only five spans.

Faced with this irreducible minimum
Brunei evolved a startling design. The

The massive cylinder was 95 feet in length
by 35 feet in diameter. In this cylinder a
diving bell was improvised, about 20 feet
above the lower end, and from the centre
of this extended a smaller tube 10 feet
in diameter. Inside the diving bell was
placed another cylinder, 27 feet in diameter,

Photograph, sitpplitii by lirfat U'estern Kailtuay.

A LOCOMOTIVE GRAVEYARD— BROAD GAUGE ENGINES AT SWINDON STATION. MAY. 1832.
Withdrawn from service by the conversion of the gauge from 6 feet to 4 feet 8J inches.

bed of the Tamar is somewhat unstable,
and the building of piers in deep water
always is a costly and tedious proceeding.
Brunei boldly decided to introduce only
two main spans, thereby reducing sub-
aqueous work to one pier in the channel.
This entailed two big spans, each of 455
feet. The foundations and under-water
operations upon the central pier offered
the most perplexing problem, however,
owing to the great depth of water.

After considerable reflection the engineer
decided to build the pier upon the caisson
system, although it involved a huge struc-
ture and operations upon a scale which
never had been attempted up to this time.

divided vertically into 11 compartments,
each of which was kept dry by compressed
air. In this way the compressed air working
space was confined to a ring of compart-
ments, instead of the whole area beneath
the dome. The air-lock was placed on top
of a tube 6 feet in diameter, set to one side
of the central 10-feet tube. Some difficulty
was experienced in sinking the cumbersome
caisson in the desired position, owing to
the configuration of the river bed. Once
it tilted alarmingly, but was righted, and
then settled down in the designed vertical
position. In the course of some eight
months it was sunk to the solid rock, the
bottom edge being 87-| feet below high water.

THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY

163

Once the caisson was bedded the sub-
structure proceeded rapidly. The masons
set the ashlar granite masonry in the com-
pressed air compartments, the material
within the core was removed and filled up,
the inner caisson removed, together with
the diving bell, and lastly the outer cylinder
was dismantled. By the end of 1856 the
pier had been brought to a height of 12 feet
above the water, and the most searching
and anxious part of the task was completed.

While the subaqueous work was in pro-
gress the two huge spans were taken in
hand. They are of unusual

bination of the tubular and
suspension bridge principles. The top
member of the truss is an arched elliptical
tube, 16| feet wide, 12£ feet deep, by
460 feet in length, carried out in wrought
iron. From end to end on each side there
are heavy suspension chains. At eleven
points, on each side of the tube, are vertical
struts, braced by diagonal ties, whereby the
chains are connected to the tube. The
track floor is a horizontal girder suspended
from the truss, the depth of the latter in
the centre being 56 feet. When completed
each span weighed 1,060 tons.

These spans were built on the Devon-

shire shore, and the method adopted for

their transference to the site

How the an(j placing in position was dis-
Spans were ,. ., . . . , ,

Raised tinctly ingenious. A dock was

excavated under each end of
the span, into which pontoons were floated
at low tide. On the deck of each pontoon a
massive timber staging was built to receive
the end of the truss. When the water
rose it lifted the pontoon and the span,
until at last the steel was supported entirely
on the pontoons. The mass of steel was
floated out into the river and warped into
position between the central and the shore
piers. Five vessels were stationed in the
river for this purpose, and by cable and
capstan the floating deadweight was brought
into place. In this work alone some 500

£225,000.

men were requisitioned under the personal
supervision of Brunei. Water was admitted
into the pontoons, causing then to sink, when
they were drawn clear, leaving the ends of
the span resting upon the bases of the piers.

The truss itself was lifted gradually as
the masonry work on the piers proceeded.
Three hydraulic presses were placed under
each end of the truss, and at a given signal
the structure was lifted about 3 feet. The
masons then built up the pier in the under
space, when the steel was lifted once more.
By this novel lifting and building alternately
the iron work was raised to its designed
height. When the first span was completed
the second was taken in hand and the cycle
of operations was repeated. On this occasion,
however, Brunei was unable to direct opera-
tions, having been stricken down by illness.

The bridge was completed, and opened
by the Prince Consort, after Avhom it is
named, on May 3rd, 1859.

Its total length, including the

.
viaduct approaches on each

bank, is 2,200 feet, the rails being laid at
110 feet above high water. It carries a
single track, Brunei having decided that
thereby £100,000 might be saved in first
cost. This was a vital consideration in
those days, and needless to say was adopted
with alacrity. Although the line on either
side is double, no serious inconvenience
ever has been experienced in working over
this short length of single track. Its total
cost was £225,000. This was the last big
work carried out by the master-mind, and,
helpless on a couch, he was drawn across
the bridge upon its completion, to see
his creation for the first and last time.

Previous to the construction of the
Saltash Bridge Brunei had accomplished
some remarkably striking
feats in carrying the railway
through rugged Cornwall. The
broken character of the country, and the
lack of funds, compelled him to introduce
some stiff gradients and sharp curves.
Still, the most noticeable features of this

164

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

THE ROYAL ALBERT BRIDGE AT SALTASH WHICH CARRIES THE RAI

by Paulton &• Son. Let, S.E.
fAY ACROSS THE TAMAR.

line were the timber viaducts, spanning the
deep ravines. Some of these structures
were of formidable proportions, the Lan-
dore Viaduct, for instance, being 1,760 feet
in length, comprising 37 openings varying
from 40 to 100 feet, while the St. Pinnock
Viaduct brought the rail level 163 feet
above the floor of the valley. The Walk-
ham Viaduct of fifteen spans was 1,100 feet
from end to end, and in the highest part
132 feet above the bottom of the rift.
Wood was utilised as a constructional
material to save expense, and the design
comprised timber towers erected on masonry
piers, with the deck carried on fan-shaped
trusses. So substantial were these struc-
tures that on the early American railroads
Brunei's design was followed, and it is
only during later years that the present
form of timber trestling has been adopted.
In revising and modernising the Cornish
line the Great Western Railway replaced
the timber structures by masonry and
steel. Seeing that over sixty structures had
to be replaced in this manner some idea

of the magnitude of this modernisation
work may be gained. Re-erection was
carried out with very slight dislocation
of traffic, although in the case of the
Landore Viaduct the difficulties encountered
were so peculiar it was feared that recon-
struction under traffic conditions would
be impossible. But an English engineer
undertook the responsible task and com-
pleted it successfully without a hitch.
Whereas the old timber viaducts carried
only a single line, the new bridges have a
double road, so that the Cornish railway
has been brought into conformity with
the remainder of the Great Western Rail-
way. ,

But possibly the greatest engineering
work associated with the Great Western
Railway is the link whereby through rail-
way communication is effected between
the English and Welsh banks of the River
Severn. In 1857 a company was incor-
porated, under the title of the Bristol and
South Wales Union Railway, to run a line
from Bristol into the Principality, the

THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY

165

interruption of 2| miles wide offered by
the waterway being overcome by a steam
ferry. In 1868 the Great Western acquired
this railway, but the water-break was
found to be a serious handicap to traffic.
Accordingly parliamentary powers were
sought, and obtained in 1872, authorising
a tunnel beneath the river, upon which the
railway company started in March, 1873,
with Mr. Charles Richardson, a pupil of
Brunei, in charge of the works.

The designs called for a double track
bore 7,664 yards in length, with approaches
rising 1 in 90 on the English and 1 in 100
on the Welsh shores respectively, between
New Passage and Portskewct, although
the river is only some 2J miles wide at
this point. It was necessary to dip down
somewhat deeply in order to clear the
hollows in the bed of the river, one such
depression, known as the " Shoots," half-
a-mile from the west shore, having a depth

of about 100 feet at high water. According
to the plans a depth of 30 feet was provided
between the water and the crown of the
tunnel.

Trouble with water was anticipated,
owing to the geological formation com-
prising shale, sandstones and marl, but
even the worst anticipations were exceeded
eventually

The Great Western Railway undertook
the task and prosecuted it sedulously for
six and a half years. On October 16th,
1879, there was a terrific water-burst. A
spring let loose a stream of water, 7 feet in
width by over 12 inches deep, which
poured down the steep driftway like a
mill-race and flooded the whole of the
works when the driftways, driven from
the opposite banks, were within 130 yards
of each other.

All efforts to cope with the inundation
with the existing pumping plant proved

Photograph supplied l>y C,rcat li'est-rn Railway.
LOOKING THROUGH THE ROYAL ALBERT BRIDGE. SALTASH.
The total length, including approaches, is 2,200 feet, and the single track is 110 feet above high water.

i66

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

fruitless, so that work was brought to a
standstill. The expert assistance of Sir
John Hawkshaw, who had been consulting
engineer up to this point, was called in,
and he instantly recommended drastic
expedients which were beyond the railway
company. Thereupon the latter decided
to withdraw from the undertaking, to
place the whole responsibility upon Sir
John Hawkshaw, and to let the work to
contract. Mr. T. A. Walker, the well-
known constructional engineer, secured the
enterprise, and steps at once were taken to
check the flow of water.

Heavy oak shields were built and lowered

into the water to be attached to the sides

of the driftways, fitted with mas-

P'ver sive doors, so as to divide the

Lambert's

Success. bore into sections. One doorway

was placed beneath the river
itself, 330 yards from the shaft, and time
after time divers descended to close this
portal, but in vain. They were forced to
retreat on every occasion. Finally, Diver
Lambert, one of the most expert of sub-
marine toilers, volunteered to attempt the
task, notwithstanding its dangerous char-
acter. He donned a Fleuss dress, wherein
the diver carries his air supply with him,
thereby dispensing with the long trail of
air-pipe which had frustrated all efforts
hitherto. He started off, and for 85 minutes
nothing was heard of him. Had he failed ;
had the supply of respiratory air given out
and left him unconscious in the flooded
bore ? It was an anxious time to those
above ; they realised the gravity of the
task confronting the intrepid diver, who
was forced to stumble through a rough,
uneven passage under the river. Just as
speculation concerning his safety had risen
to fever point he was discerned return-
ing. He had closed the door and the
water was held up. In the meantime
another door had been placed across the
heading down which the water was rushing.
Directly this was closed the inflow was
dammed back.

When the water-burst occurred several
springs and wells in the vicinity dried up,
while the River Nedern shrank

to a brook, thus testifying Denuded

J 6 Springs.
only too palpably that the

water which normally fed them was find-
ing another outlet. Directly Lambert
had closed the door the springs and wells
returned to life, while the Nedern resumed
its normal level.

Meanwhile Sir John Hawkshaw, having
been appointed chief engineer, had revised
the plans. He lowered the

tunnel by 15 feet, thereby Tunnel

. J ' Flooded for

increasing the depth between Three Years.

the roof and the river bed to
45 feet. No attempt to remove the water
held back by the door was made until
3 1 years later, during which time a new j
pumping shaft was sunk. When the water j
was cleared out it was found that a part
of the roof had fallen in behind the door, j
leaving a cavity 40 feet in height. The
pumps were kept going removing the 6,000
gallons of water which poured in every
minute, and the debris was cleared away.
As the level of the tunnel had been
lowered, a new driftway was driven below j
the old one, so that what

was originally the bottom *Se1cond
/ Flooding.

heading now became the upper

one. The water was kept down com- j
pletcly until the borers had penetrated to
a point about 100 yards beyond the door
which Lambert had closed, where the first
water-burst was encountered. Then came
another dramatic inundation. Whereas in
the first instance the water had entered from
the side and roof, in this instance it burst
up from the bottom, and in such volume
that the works were filled up to a
level of 95 feet in fifty-one hours. The
inrush was so sudden that three out of
the seven men working at the spot were
overwhelmed and drowned. It was esti-
mated that the water entered the workings
at the rate of 27,000 gallons per minute,
while as the pumps could only cope with

->< / \rn\i

i68

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

11,000 gallons per minute, they were over-
taxed hopelessly. But they were kept
going incessantly night and day for three
weeks, and gradually reduced the level of
the water, but the struggle for mastery was J
a stern one, the gain not exceeding 7 inches
in the course of 24 hours.

The new driftway, like the old, had been
fitted with doors as a precaution, but 1
whereas the men closed the upper one in
their rush, the lower door could not be
pushed against the water pressure. Before j
anything could be done it was essential that
this door should be closed. It demanded
a diver, and he had a crawl of 150 yards
to the spot from the bottom of the shaft. ]
Again Diver Lambert came to the rescue.
In an ordinary diving suit, and with the
assistance of two comrades, one standing
at the bottom of the shaft and another 1
about 75 yards along the tunnel to manipu-
late his air pipe, he succeeded in reaching
and closing the door.

When this was accomplished the level
of the water was reduced speedily, and as
soon as the tunnel could be entered a
massive wall, 15 feet in thickness, was '
thrown up across the bore 88 yards
from the shaft. This was equipped with
a heavy iron door, together with sluices,
and directly the pumping machinery had
been increased, so as to lift 27,000 gallons
of water per minute, the flooded area was
cleared. It was found in this instance that
the incoming water had torn a huge hole
in the floor of the driftway. This was
filled with clay puddle, and covered with
a mound of the same material in bags.
Subsequently this mound was levelled off
and covered with concrete. A little farther
on another fall of the roof was found. This
was a fortunate discovery, as otherwise
another inundation would have resulted.
This disaster was avoided by timbering up
the roof with all speed, and finally brick-
ing it in cement when the tunnel lining
advanced.

The tunnel is of semicircular arch section,

THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY

169

with a diameter of 26 feet inside the lining,
and a headway of 20 feet in the centre. A
permanent pumping plant was installed on
the Welsh side, together with a ventilating
system. The pumps are capable of meeting
any demand that is likely to be made upon
them by the spring which caused so much
trouble in the early days, so that now no
water finds its way into the bore, the spring
emptying into and being removed from the
shaft provided for the purpose.

The tunnel was opened for goods traffic
in September, 1886, after some 13| years'
labour. When work was in full swing over
4,000 men found employment. Although
longer tunnels have been bored in other
parts of the world, few have offered such
perplexing and peculiar difficulties as were
encountered under the Severn. Passengers
first travelled by railway under the water-
way on December 1st, 1886, and to-day it
is a busy artery, seeing that it consti-
tutes the shortest and most direct route
between London, Bristol, and South
Wales.

The last great enterprise which the Great
Western Railway took in hand was the con-
struction of Fishguard Harbour, together
with the railway connection therewith.
In reality this was only a revival of a
scheme projected as far back as 1845.
Brunei realised that Fishguard was the
strategical point for the south of Ireland
and Atlantic traffic, and commenced to
provide a harbour, together with railway
facilities, but funds giving out, the scheme
had to be abandoned in favour of New

Milford, which offered an excellent natural
harbour. When the engineers came along
half-a-century later they found traces of
Brunei's work on every hand as well as
some miles of the rusting derelict railway
which the master engineer laid down. His
grades, running up to 1 in 27, however,
were too steep, so a new and more level
line was fashioned with no banks heavier
than 1 in 100. By this means the Welsh
port was brought within 262 miles of
London over a line adapted to fast
travelling, which has been demonstrated
convincingly since the incoming Cunard
liners dropped their American mails and
passengers at this point.

While the original London and Bristol
line has been brought to a high state of
efficiency, and enables passengers to cover
the 118 miles between the two points in
120 minutes, a new route for western points
has been laid parallel to the parent road,
though some miles to the south, between
Reading and Taunton. In this way the old
line via Bristol has been relieved of a con-
siderable volume of traffic. A fast through
line has been provided also between London
and Birmingham, as well as other important
points in the western midlands.

To-day the system embraces 3,000 miles
of road over which travel considerably more
than 100,000,000 people every year. The
Great Western Railway ranks at present
as one of the most substantial, fastest, and
smoothest travelling lines in the world, while
its long distance expresses stand supreme
in point of speed, comfort, and luxury.

• . Photograph by permission of Siuan, IJimftr, and ICigfiarn-Jlic/iiirtisoii, i-id

BROADSIDE VIEW OF THE DROTTNIXG VICTORIA AT SEA.
This boat plies between Sassnitz (Germany) and Trelleborg (Sweden), a sea passage of 65 miles.

Floating Railways— II

THE GIGANTIC FERRIES OF EUROPE AND ASIA

ESPITE the high standard to
which the railway ferry has
attained in the United States
and Canada, one -must come
to Europe to see its most
imposing development from
the all-round point of view.
In fact, the latter services of this character
are superior in size, speed and luxury.
The Danish Government has several float-
ing railways in operation, the longest route
being between Gjedser and Warnemunde,
a distance of 26 miles. But the pre-eminent
European service is that in operation be-
tween Sassnitz, on the German seaboard,

and Terlleborg, in Sweden, as the vessels
have to traverse 65 miles of the Baltic
Sea, with its treacherous currents, tides,
storms and ice. When the elements are
in torment the seas are particularly heavy.
This ferry service was brought into opera-
tion by the German and Swedish Govern-
ments at an outlay of nearly £1,000,000,
the respective countries contributing two
vessels each to the fleet. The two German
boats were built in that country : one
of the Swedish craft was constructed in
Sweden, while the other, Drottning Victoria,
was furnished by Swan, Hunter, and Wig-
ham-Richardson, Limited, of Wallsend-on-

170

FLOATING RAILWAYS

171

Tyne. As the four vessels
are practically identical,
a description of the
broad features of the
British-built vessel will
suffice for all. The
Drottning Victoria has
an over-all length of
370 feet, beam 53 \ feet,
draught loaded 16| feet,
displacement 4,270 tons,
and a maximum speed
on service of 16| knots
— about 19 \ miles per
hour — this being ade-
quate to enable the sea
journey of 65 miles to
be covered within four
hours.

The main deck carries
two sets of metals, which
are sufficient to receive
eight bogie passenger-
coaches in two parallel
rows, each 295 feet in
length. The cars are
run upon the vessel over
a special bridge. To
accommodate the varia-
tions in the level of the
tracks owing to tidal
influences, a system of
trimming tanks is
brought into action to
maintain the trim of
the vessel during the
operation. The car deck
is so designed as to be
able to receive coaches
measuring 15^ feet in
height, by a width of
11 feet 2 inches — the
maximum dimensions
permitted by the re-
spective State railway
systems.

The arrange ments
for securing the coaches

Photograph by permission of Swan, Hunter, and Ifi^h-
STERN VIEW OF THE DROTTNlNd VICTORIA.
Showing the car deck and berthing arrangements.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Photograph by permission if Swan, Hunter, and

CAR DECK OF THE DROTTXJXO VICTORIA LOOKING AFT.

Showing screws whereby the train is secured to shackles in the floor, and jacks, which placed
beneath the axles of the coach relieve the springs.

are interesting. Along the deck heavy
shackles are fitted both inside and outside
the track. The former are spaced 4 feet
4 inches apart, while the latter are placed
at intervals of 8 feet 8 inches. Specially
designed screws are attached to these deck
plates and shackles provided on the coach
frame, to hold the coach absolutely rigid.
But, as an extra precaution during heavy
weather, additional similar screws are intro-
duced between the top of the car and the
deck girders on each side, thereby protect-
ing the superstructure of the coach from
swaying motions. In order to relieve the
strain upon the car springs during tran-
sit heavy jacks are placed beneath the
carriages and extended just sufficiently to
lift the coach-body off the wheels.

The ferry is equipped with magnificent
accommodation for the comfort of the

passengers, the appointments being carried
out upon the most liberal lines, so that the
craft is both a ferry and steamship in one.
Indeed, an atmosphere of luxury such as is
seldom approached upon cross-channel mail-
boats is presented, there being dining and
smoking saloons, lounge, drawing-rooms,
and regal apartments on the promenade
deck ; below the car deck is the state-
roorn accommodation for 96 first-class and
45 third-class passengers.

As the ferries make the crossing at night,
many passengers do not wish to forsake
their sleeping quarters in the train, and yet
desire the conveniences concerning heat
and attention incidental to modern travel.
The steam heating facilities of the train,
therefore, are coupled to the ship's heat-
ing system by a connection at the buffer
stops, while electric-bell connection with

FLOATING RAILWAYS

173

the stewards on board is effected at the
same point.

The vessel herself conforms in every
respect with the latest ideas in ship-
building. The hull is freely subdivided
into watertight compartments, fitted with
Stone-Lloyd watertight doors. Two large
searchlights are carried, one forward and
one aft, to facilitate entrance into the
terminals, and a bow as well as a stern
rudder is fitted. The former is used in
conjunction with the latter only when
travelling astern, as when backing into the
dock, since the trains are run on and off
at the stern. At other times the forward
rudder, which virtually forms part of the
stem of the vessel, is locked by a bolt in
the neutral position.

In addition to the passenger and crew
accommodation, facilities are also provided

for housing the Customs staff, the railway
officials, and the Postal department. The
Customs officials perform their duties during
the journey, while simultaneously the sort-
ing of the mails progresses. It is admitted
that, from the point of comfort and luxury,
these railway ferries have no equal, while
they represent a decided advance upon
American practice so far as the ship-
building craft is concerned. Each boat
cost about £115,000, so that the outlay
on the fleet was approximately half-a-
million sterling. The Drottning Victoria
on her official trials easily exceeded the
contract speed, while in service her sea-
going qualities have not failed to arouse
widespread attention among travellers fre-
quenting this route.

When the Russian Transcontinental Rail-
way was driven across the steppes of

Photograph by permission ofSu-an, Hunter, and It'ighatn-Ricltardson, Ltd.
FIRST-CLASS SMOKING ROOM OF THE DROTTNING VICTORIA.

This boat is luxuriously furnished.

174

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Siberia, the advance of the engineers was at the same time to present the maximum

disputed by Lake Baikal. The first pro- smashing effect. The Lake Baikal, as she1

posal was to swing around the southern is called, is somewhat unique, and prob-

end of the lake, but the country was so ably represents one of the strongest ships

forbiddingly mountainous, and the work that ever has been built. She measures

of the engineers was certain to be so slow 290 feet in length by 57 feet in width, and

and tedious, that, in order to secure through under normal working conditions draws'

railway communication with the East, it 18 \ feet of water. The hull is built through-

II i .nun (I I I I I I; I I I I I « I I I I M I I

THE FERRY STEAMER LAKE BAIKAL.

It plies across Lake Baikal, in connection with the trans-Siberian Railway. It is an ice-breaker

as well.

was decided to establish a floating railway
section upon this inland sea. This was a
somewhat startling proposal, seeing that
the lake during the winter is completely
and thickly frozen over, the low prevailing
temperature keeping it firmly locked in this
condition for about half the year. Tims it
seemed at first sight as if the ferry service
would have to be restricted to the summer
months only, unless an icebreaker were pro-
vided as well, so as to plough the channel
for the ferry. Thereupon a combination
of the two types of vessels was evolved.

The contract for this ice-breaking ferry
was awarded by the Russian Government
to Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth and
Company. A special design was elaborated,
the lines being of such a character as to
offer the least resistance to the ice, and yet

out of steel, closely subdivided into water-
tight compartments, the result being that
several compartments must be pierced
before the safety of the vessel is imperilled,
while the provision of a double bottom
ensures greater security. In addition, there-
is a belt of 1-inch steel, 9 feet wide, ex-
tending from stem to stem at the water-
line. The cars are run on to the main deck,
and are secured by special devices to hold
them steady during the journey of some
40 miles from bank to bank. The vessel
is fitted with three screws, two at the
stern, as usual, and one at the bow.

One of the most interesting features in
connection with this craft was the fact that
she had to be sent in pieces from the Tyne
to the distant inland sea. To divide and
pack up a vessel weighing 4,200 tons in

FLOATING RAILWAYS

175

this manner was no light task. The dis-
membered ferry was shipped in a steamer
to St. Petersburg, where the load was
transferred to railway trains and dis-
patched to the railhead in Siberia, which
at the time was some distance from the
lake shore. There the packages were trans-
ferred to sledges and hauled by horses over
the snow-covered steppes to the water-side,
where the parts, as they arrived, were
reassembled, and the vessel in due course
consigned to the bosom of the lake.

The ferry has given complete satisfaction,
and has demonstrated her capacity to cope
with the thickest and heaviest ice peculiar
to this lake. The cars being run on at the
stern and made fast, and the signal given
to go ahead, the vessel steams slowly out
of her dock. The nose of the vessel, owing
to its peculiar shape, does not cut into the
ice, but lifts as with a glancing blow, until
it rests upon the surface. Simultaneously,
the front screw in its revolutions displaces
the water beneath the ice, so that the full
weight and force of the hull press down
heavily. The ice has to give way, being
broken into huge masses, which are flung
hither and thither in the open channel
behind by the ferry's wash. Although the
railway since has been completed around the
end of the lake, giving continuous railway
•communication, the floating section is still
in operation, as the trip across the lake
saves considerable time, and is accordingly
used for the through fast mail traffic. The
Lake Baikal has been in constant use since
1897, and even after some fifteen years'
battling with the winter and ice on this
inland sea is as efficient as ever. It is a
moot point, in view of the Lake Baikal's
achievements, whether the ferry ever will
disappear from the trans-Siberian railway
service. It is more probable that, as the
traffic develops, the system will be ex-
tended.

Another novel and large ferry steamer
was built in 1895 by the creators of the
Lake Baikal for service upon the River

Volga, where some very arduous work has
to be fulfilled. Not only is the current
very swift, but the river rises and falls
to a remarkable degree according to the
season, the difference in level between
winter and summer being no less than
45 feet. Under these conditions, a some-
what novel idea had to be incorporated.

The steamer is 252 feet long, by 55|- feet
wide.- On her decks four tracks are laid —
converging into two at the fore end —
capable of receiving twenty-four trucks.
On the banks the rails are brought to the
water's edge by two levels, one being dis-
posed 20 feet above the other. The latter
is used when the river is low and the upper
when it is in flood. But even in the first
named instance there is a difference of
25 feet to overcome under the most dis-
advantageous conditions. This is met by
the provision of a hoist in the front part
of the vessel, which is operated hydraulic-
ally. This hoist carries two cradles, which
when lowered are flush with the deck. In
loading, the cars, are run on to one of the
bank landing-stages, and by means of a
capstan are warped on to the cradle, to
be lowered to the deck. In unloading the
operation is reversed. While the method
is somewhat involved as compared with the
previous systems of train ferry, where the
vehicles are run straight on and off the
deck tracks, it offered the only solution of
the peculiar conditions associated with the
River Volga.

The railway ferry undoubtedly consti-
tutes one of the most interesting features
of railway operation. Seeing that the
system is so successful in all parts of the
world, the question may well be asked
why it has not been adopted for the
maintenance of through railway communi-
cation between England and France ? In
every instance where the idea has been
introduced a wonderful increase in the
volume of traffic has resulted, so that the
floating railway possesses a far-reaching
economic value.

TYPICAL MOUNTAIN COUNTRY IN THE YUNNAN PROVINCE.
Showing the track on either side of the Faux Nam-ti Gorge. The bridge is seen in the distance

The Railway in Wild China

HOW FRENCH ENGINEERS HAVE CONQUERED NATURE AND LAID THE GREAT

YUNNAN RAILWAY.

HEN the French nation finally
made its peace with China on
June 9th, 1885, after some
three years' persistent conquest
in the south-east corner of
the Celestial Empire, and
French Indo-China came into
political being through the cession of some
300,000 square miles of Chinese territory,
France secured a firm foothold upon
the Eastern Asian continent. But the
country was regarded as being practically
worthless. The fact that only some
16,500,000 people eked out a miserable

existence in this vast expanse of territory
undoubtedly lent colour to this prevailing
opinion.

However, as the situation became under-
stood, it was realised that France had
secured a decided strategical advantage,
because it was an excellent point where-
from to tap the rich trade of Central China.
Arteries of communication were required
urgently, and the French decided to pro-
vide them without delay. Railway projects
were adumbrated promptly. The home
government fostered this enterprise. A
line was planned, first from the port of

176

THE RAILWAY IN WILD CHINA

177

Haiphong as far as Laokay on the Indo-
Chinese frontier, a distance of about 240
miles. This provided the French interests
with a point of access to the fertile Yunnan
province, and offered an alternative easy
route between the interior and the coast.
Unfortunately, however, the Yunnan pro-
vince is very rugged and broken, the ranges,
from 4,000 to 7,000 feet, being intersected
by deep, precipitous ravines, forming the
courses for rushing rivers. The only high-
ways were rough and primitive cart tracks,
so that transportation was both uncertain
and costly, as well as being insecure.

The French Government thereupon ad-
vanced a project .for continuing the line
300 miles up countrv to Yun-

nan-fu' the caPital Of.the
province. It was admitted

to be a daring undertaking, bearing in
mind the peculiar physical characteristics,
yet was imperative for the success of
Indo-China, and the railway already ex-
tending from the frontier to the sea.

As a result of prolonged deliberations,
China finally acquiesced in the proposal,
and upon exceedingly favourable terms.
The undertaking was to be completed,
either by the French Government or by
any private company to which the latter
might feel disposed to hand over the
concession. France was to find the money ;
the Celestial Government merely was to
convey, free of all expenditure, the strip
of land requisite for the right-of-way.
Subsequently it was agreed that China
should have the option of taking over the
railway between Laokay and Yunnan-fu
at the expiration of eighty years, by refund-
ing all expenses incurred in its construction
and any other details connected therewith
up to the end of the term.

When the deliberations between the two
Governments were adjusted satisfactorily,
French financiers, in combination with
constructional engineers, expressed their
willingness to complete the undertaking,
and to work it for the French Government,
23

providing a sufficiently attractive financial
arrangement could be completed between
private and official interests. The former
wanted to take over the concession lock,
stock and barrel. The suggestion was
received favourably, and a commission was
dispatched to the East to investigate the
problems on the spot, so that an estimate
of the cost of the railway might be obtained.

The members of this commission did
not bring back a very encouraging story.
Apart from the formidable
physical difficulties which
would have to be overcome,
and the many abstruse technical problems
which would have to be solved, they laid
emphasis upon the dearth of native labour,
the troubles that would arise in maintain-
ing the commissariat of the camps in the
interior, and the heavy expenses that would
be incurred in regard to transporting
material to the grade.

The project was threshed out thoroughly
with the assistance of the information

gained on the spot, the

T-< i /~i .- Financial

French Government esti- Arrangements.

mating that the scheme
could be fulfilled for £3,840,000 for some
290 miles. The concession was transferred
to private interests, which were to construct
and operate the railway at their own ex-
pense for a term of seventy-five years. The
Government undertook to guarantee bonds
at 3 per cent, on £3,640,000 ; the French
colony of Indo-China advanced a further
£500,000 ; while the existing line of 240
miles between Laokay and Haiphong was
handed over, so as to facilitate a through
working line 530 miles in length, for a
similar term of seventy-five years.

When the financial terms were completed
a hitch arose. The concessionaires did not
regard the projected route of the line with
favour, as it was found to introduce a
ruling grade of 3' 5 per cent. — 185 feet per
mile — with curves of only 164 feet radius, in
order to overcome the difference of 3,708
feet in level between Sinkai and Mongtze,

178

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

with the first location, was the fact
that whereas the latter introduced ;
a maximum grade of 132 feet per •
mile in the Pataho River basin, on
the new survey this maximum was
pulled down to 1-5 per cent. — 79-2
feet per mile — with minimum curva-
ture of 328 feet radius. The chief
engineer also estimated that the
revised route would effect a saving
of 28 miles between Laokay and
Yunnan-fu. Unfortunately in this
last-named feature the engineer
ultimately was disappointed.

The line is of metre gauge (3 feet
3| inches), and the 50-pound rails
are laid upon trough steel sleepers,
weighing 77 pounds apiece, so that
the line conforms with the general
ideas of a pioneer track. The sta-
tions likewise are of this descrip-
tion, at present being disposed only
here and there where the local
conditions demand such facilities.
For the first few miles out of
Laokay the railway builders ex-
perienced no untoward difficulties,
construction being carried forward
with tolerable ease, as, the work be-
ing in close proximity to a flourish-
ing centre, little trouble was experienced
in regard to labour. But when the engineers
swung into the gorge of the Nam-ti River
they encountered obstructions and diffi-
culties of every conceivable description.
In fact, the going proved so hard that it
threatened to wreck the whole enterprise,
more particularly when it became necessary
to run through a narrow gulch, carrying a
turbulent affluent of the Nam-ti, and
known as the Faux Nam-ti. The water-
way is little else than a brook, but it
babbles through a wonderful canyon, where
the walls sheer up almost vertically to a
height of some 1,200 feet.

The plotting of the line necessitated
throwing the metals from cliff-face to cliff-
face over a gap 215 feet wide, and 335

BUILDING A BASCULE OF THE FAUX NAM-TI
UP ONE OF THE CLIFF FACES.

a distance of about 53 miles. It was
admitted that in any event the mountain
section was certain to be heavy, as the
range dividing the Red River and the
Pataho River basins is precipitous. But
the company's engineers considered that the
foregoing factors were too adverse, and that
an easier route might be found.

Thereupon fresh surveys were made,
and at last a new route was discovered.
On paper it certainly appeared to be
preferable to the original location, inasmuch
as on the heaviest part of the mountain
section, 53 miles in length, the ruling
grade was reduced to 2-5 per cent — 132
feet per mile — while the curves were opened
out to a minimum radius of 328 feet.
Another apparent advantage, as compared

BRIDGE

THE RAILWAY IN WILD CHINA

179

feet above the floor of the rift. It involved
driving through a towering spur, so that
the line was'brought to the. defile by means
of a tunnel in the south vertical wall, and
had to penetrate the opposing precipice in
the same manner.

The question of bridging this chasm
expeditiously and inexpensively puzzled
the engineers. Ordinary bridge-building
methods were quite impossible. Falsework
could not be adopted owing to the height
of the permanent way above the valley
floor, while building upon the cantilever
system would have presented some pretty
problems, owing to lack of elbow room.
The situation recalled that in which Meiggs
found himself when he had to span the
Infiernillo Gorge on the Oroya Railway
in Peru, except that the bridge had to be
set at a greater height in this instance.

Finally a solution was offered by M.
Paul Bodin, the chief engineer to the

Societe de Construction des Bati<molles.

His suggestion for a steel bridge was
certainly novel, but as none better was
forthcoming it was adopted. It comprised
the fashioning of two bascules, one on
either side of the gorge, which were to be
lowered after erection until they met and
were connected in the centre. Upon this
inverted V-shape structure the bridge carry-
ing the track was to be built.

It was an ingenious idea, and, as events
proved, it solved the problem very com-
pletely. The grade was driven through the
cliff face on the railhead side, so that the
tunnel overlooked the gulch. Men then
descended the cliff face to a suitable point
immediately below the bore, and prepared
the foundations for the anchorages of the
bascule. It was slow and dangerous work,
as the precipice was steep. Considerable
time was occupied in chipping away the
rock, so as to permit movement between

THE BASCULES OF THE FAUX NAM-TI BRIDGE SET AND CONNECTED.
Showing the ropes whereby each section was lowered.

i8o

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

the tunnel and the foundations by means
of ladders. Simultaneously, other toilers
scaled the cliff face with ladders to a point
immediately above the tunnel, where the
rock face was scooped out to form a big
cave. Here a windlass was rigged up,
which was used for lowering the required
material to the men working upon the
foundations.

These preparations had to be completed
on each side of the chasm, although on the
north face the toilers were not cramped
so severely, seeing that this precipice sheers
upwards at a sharp angle, instead of ver-
tically. Thus the men were able to con-
trive a platform in front of the tunnel
mouth from which to pursue their tasks,
whereas on the south side everything had to
be conducted from the tunnel portal itself.

Seeing that the railhead was some
20 miles to the rear when the bridge was

commenced, the engineers were
Primitive hampered very seriously by lack
Service. " °f transport facilities. There was

only a primitive wagon road,
such as is laid often in such undertakings
to feed the camps ahead of the end of
steel with material, men, etc., but this
failed to meet the situation. Animals for
transport service were difficult to obtain,
so coolies had to be pressed into service
as carriers. Under these circumstances
the weight of the component pieces of the
steelwork had to be kept down very
rigorously, but it was found impossible to
reduce certain sections to less than 13
hundredweight. With such weights, and
advancing over broken ground, large gangs
of coolies were required to handle the
heaviest and bulkiest pieces of steel.

Each bascule was built vertically like

a tower from its anchorage up the cliff

face, the steel being held in this

How the position by cables made fast

were Built uPon an(i passed down from

the uppermost working ledge.

When the steelwork of both bascules was

completed, the latter reared up in front

of the tunnel mouths like metallic trestles
or towers. Arrangements then were com-
pleted for lowering the two sections simul-
taneously until they came together dead
in the desired position over the gorge.
The cables attached to the upper end of
each tower were paid out slowly and evenly
from the windlasses on each side, the
riveters, sitting astride the tower ends,
guiding the descent of the pieces. The
actual lowering operation took four hours.
When at last the ends came together and
were adjusted they were connected up, and
by aid of wooden plankways temporary
communication was provided between the
opposing cliff faces. It was a delicate and
ingenious operation, which, however, was
fulfilled with complete success.

Once the legs of steel had been set the
erection of the bridge proper proceeded
apace. Short steel towers
were built on the humps of
the bascules to support the
deck. The spans of the latter were erected
in the tunnel, and then launched over
rollers by the aid of cables, until they came
into the requisite position. From end to
end the bridge measures 220 feet 4 inches
at the track level ; the distance between
the heels of the bascules is 180| feet ;
and the rails are laid 335 feet above the
bed of the river below.

While the Faux Nam-ti gorge bridge
possibly constitutes the most striking piece
of work upon the Yunnan Railway, the
builders were sorely harassed at other
points innumerable. The rock of which
the mountains are composed is particularly
susceptible to the ravages of the weather.
The result is that it breaks up extensively,
and very quickly precipitates formidable
landslips and rock slides, which, owing to
the generally prevailing steepness of the
mountain flanks, assume destructive pro-
portions. Time after time hill-side ex-
cavations completed in dry weather were
obliterated during the following wet season.
The overhanging masses of rock, slipping

THE RAILWAY IN WILD CHINA

181

bodily, crashed down with tremendous
force upon the railway, and often long
lengths of permanent way were wiped out
of existence. These movements are to a
very appreciable degree assisted by springs
running in all directions, which come to

these walls disaster was inevitable. On
one occasion, where a large wall had been
thrown across a hollow and filled in to
grade level, the whole collapsed under the
weight of a passing construction train,
the engine breaking away from its couplings

THE BASCULES OF THE FAUX NAM-TI BRIDGE. CONNECTED. SHOWING TEMPORARY GANG PLANKS.
At the right may be seen the railway before it enters the cliff to reappear at the tunnel.

life suddenly during the rainy season, as
well as by thick layers of treacherous clay,
forming strata in the rock, which, under
the action of moisture, slips and slides in
a startling manner.

The cracks, crevices, and rifts in the
mountain flanks also proved serious
obstacles. In order to preserve the align-
ment and grade it was necessary to throw
heavy retaining walls across these inter-
ruptions, filling the space behind with
masses of rock and debris which had been
brought down from higher levels by the
disintegrating forces of Nature. Unless
careful attention were devoted to the
adequate draining of the ground behind

and pitching into the river some 50 feet
below, owing to the water having under-
mined the foundations of the earthworks.

When the railway was commenced the
engineers somewhat underestimated the
force and effect of these sliding movements,
and the protective walls proved too weak
for their purpose. Many cracked, or were
burst outwards by the weight and sliding
pressure behind, with the result that they
had to be demolished and rebuilt upon a
heavier scale. The torrential rains also
played sad havoc with the best of designs
time after time. Miniature torrents poured
down the gullies, scarring the steep moun-
tain slopes or soaking into the ground to

182

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

flow through cracks and crevices in the
main mass of rock, effecting their escape
behind the walls, where they were pent up
until at last the force exerted by the
accumulating water caused the walls to
bulge outwards and be carried away by

manner, and having a clear helter-skelter
run of several hundred feet down the steep
slope, hit the line with tremendous force,
carrying it away bodily and leaving a
tremendous gap where solid rock had
existed previously to support the metals

RIVETING UP THE TRACK DECK OF THE FAUX NAM-TI BRIDGE.

the suddenly released pressure. As these
disturbing factors, in many instances, did
not reveal themselves until some time after
the work had been completed, the engineers
were kept on tenterhooks. The completed
portion of the line had to be watched
vigilantly so as to enable repairs and re-
inforcing to be carried out directly signs of
weakness became manifest;

But the rock slides constituted one of
the most implacable foes. A mountain
spur or crag which appeared able to defy
the elements for centuries would collapse
suddenly, and, coming down, would smash
the permanent way to fragments, or bury
it completely. On one occasion over
100,000 tons of rock got loose in this

In order to save time in reconstruction,
and to permit the construction trains to
cross the breach, so as to keep the camps
beyond the railhead adequately supplied,
the engineer hurriedly constructed a light
metal bridge which he rolled across the
gap., It served its purpose for the time
being, and stood securely while a massive
structure of concrete was built beneath,
the cavity being filled up completely in
this manner. Even this heroic expedient
did not fail to be subjected to a heavy
pounding, as another landslip caught it,
and knocked it about somewhat badly,
but this damage was repaired speedily.

In 1906 the enterprise was brought face
to face with threatened disaster. The

THE FAUX NAM-TI BRIDGE COMPLETE.
It measures 220 feet 4 inches in length, and the rails are 335 feet above the river.

184

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

interests which had undertaken the con-
structional operations succumbed to the
long string of difficulties and

troublcs which beset thc work-
It was seen that the original

estimates would prove completely in-
sufficient, so a whole reconsideration
of the project became necessary. The
concessionaires took over the work from
the railway building organisation, and
approached the Government for further
financial assistance. The situation was
reviewed and discussed at length, the
upshot being that the French Government,
satisfied that the completion of the line
was certain to be attended with a richly
remunerative traffic, introduced a sup-
plementary estimate of £3,280,000, bring-
ing the expenditure to £6,620,000, to enable
the work to proceed. Of this total the
colony of Indo-China was held responsible
for £2,060,000.

The rainfall, the insalubrity of the climate,

the shortage of labour, and the difficulty

in handling material owing to

Difficulties. the absence of existing high-
ways superior to rough cart-
tracks, hit the railway builders hard.
From the middle of June the weather is
extremely hot, and some time elapses
before the European becomes acclimatised.
The rainy season is equally as trying to
the western worker. When the task was
in full swing a vast army of 65,000 men
were scattered over the grade. Many of
these communities had to be housed as
well as fed by the builders.

The labour troubles were endless. Emis-
saries had to be sent out far and wide to

recruit coolies for the grade.
Chinese Ag these were a]j Chinese, and
Labour.

worked under Chinese middle-
men, some time elapsed before the
French engineers became familiar with the
peculiar prevailing conditions. The middle-
men, resolved to make an excellent tiling
for themselves out of the transaction,
sweated the labourers, thereby diverting the

greater proportion of the money disbursed
under wages into their own pockets. Quar-
rels between the coolies and their " bosses "
were of repeated occurrence. Riots broke
out among the men, who became dissatis-
fied with the small pittance they received,
owing to the avariciousncss of the labour
contractors, and considerable damage was
done from time to time to the railway
property. Once or twice the disaffection
assumed the proportions of well-organised
insurrections, which were not quelled
without extreme difficulty.

Despite these exasperating difficulties
and delays the railway was carried to its
inland terminus at Yunnan-fu
by 1910, the 290 miles having £^ Eight
occupied some eight years to
complete. Although the cost of con-
struction was so inordinately heavy, the
owners regard the future with placidity,
as the capital of the Yunnan province is
in direct quick touch with the coast. In
the first year of its operation 73,000 tons
were carried over the line. It is impossible
yet for the road to be brought to its full
carrying capacity, owing to the permanent
way not having settled down sufficiently
to admit of the operation of heavy fast
trains.

A curious circumstance was revealed
upon thc completion of the enterprise.
India has a rich trade with

Yunnan, especially in cotton Conservative

J Prejudice.

cloth and yarns. This traffic

has been conducted overland from its
beginning. When the railway was opened
it was surmised that this overland business
would cease, and constitute a source of
revenue to the steel highway, reaching
Yunnan via water from Indian ports to
Haiphong, and thence over the new line.
But the first year's working of the railway
did not make the slightest impression upon
the overland transportation from India.
The merchants continued to dispatch their
goods on the backs of animals by the
circuitous difficult journey of 32 days over

THE RAILWAY IN WILD CHINA

dangerous trails and rugged mountain
paths ; and, what was a more disturbing
factor, could place them in Yunnan-fu
markets at a profit against the railway-
borne article. Whether the line eventually
will supersede this anomalous and apparently
uneconomical competitive route time alone
can prove, seeing that the ways of Chinese
trade are notoriously difficult to fathom.

A certain hostility to the line exists
among the Chinese of the interior. This
attitude is somewhat explicable, since not
only are the railway transport
charges somewhat high, but a

transit tax" is levied upon all
foreign goods, which are not of
French or Indo-Chinese origin,
carried between the seaboard and
Yunnan-fu. In order to rid
themselves of this disadvantage
a group of wealthy Chinese
•citizens and merchants are father-
ing a competitive route between
Yunnan-fu and the coast, lying
entirely through Chinese territory.
It is a daring undertaking, but
now construction has commenced
in grim earnest it is probable that
the scheme will be completed.
Rate wars then are certain to
develop, but, seeing that the
Chinaman is essentially patriotic,
he will be certain to prefer the
route through his own country,
even if it be somewhat longer
and occupy more time, to one
extending through foreign terri-
tory, especially when there are
financial considerations at stake.
The merchants of Yunnan-fu
itself are anticipating the
opening of this line very en-
thusiastically. In time this
new route will be to the benefit
of British trade, inasmuch as it
is intended to link this Chinese
line with others running to
Hong Kong.
24

The French, however, view the future
with buoyant optimism, confident that in
a few years the traffic will have developed
to such a potential degree as to render
the railway highly profitable. The only
adverse forces which they fear are those
of Nature, who in her playfulness may
overwhelm the narrow line from time to
time, thereby not only throwing traffic all
sixes and sevens, but offering the engineers
some ' costly and baffling puzzles of a
technical character.

The

BUILDING THE FAUX NAM-TI BRIDGE.
North Cliff face, showing three working levels.

A LOCOMOTIVE FITTED WITH DYNAMO (MARKED BY 4-) FOR HEADLIGHT.

The dynamo is turbine-driven and generates current for the headlight and three incandescent lamps

in the cab.

Railway Searchlights

A DESCRIPTION OF THE POWERFUL ELECTRIC HEADLIGHTS WHICH ILLUMINE
THE TRACK HALF A MILE AHEAD OF THE LOCOMOTIVE

HE public is notoriously exacting
and querulous in matters per-
taining to travel. It sees no
reason why the same speeds
should not be maintained
under the blackness of the
night as during the brilliancy
of day, disregarding the huge strain that
is thrown upon the senses of the driver.
He is expected to pick up any possible
obstacle on the metals a hundred yards

ahead at midnight as readily as at mid-
day. If the conditions under which the
driver labours are revealed to the passenger,
the latter retorts in his ignorance that the
driver has his locomotive headlight to
assist him to detect dangers ahead. When
he is told that such a light is useless, and
is rather intended for identification purposes
by railway operators, such as signalmen and
others, he is somewhat nonplussed.

So far as the United Kingdom is con-

186

RAILWAY SEARCHLIGHTS

187

cerncd, the glimmering oil light may be
adequate. The lines are fenced in, are well
patrolled, and are protected efficiently by

searchlight was more acute, inventive
effort was not cast down so easily. One,
if not the first, experimenter was Leonidas

block signalling devices, but in new coun- Woolley. He commenced his experiments

tries, where settlement is sparse, the con- at his home in Dayton, Ohio, and

ditions are vastly different. Often the line laboured long and hard at the perfection

is not fenced, or only in a perfunctory of a small, compact, and simple device,

manner, so that an eye has to be kept Before he had carried the idea sufficiently

open for big beasts of the bush, which are
apt to turn the right of way into a pro-
menade. A bridge may have collapsed ;
a tree may have been blown across the
metals ; a boulder may have rolled down
the mountain-side and have broken up

far to build a working model, he moved
to Indianopolis, Indiana. Here he pro-
duced a small electric headlight machine
in 1883, and success seemed assured.
But there came a bitter disillusion. The
device was rigged up on a locomotive,

the road ; a wandering stream may have and burned promisingly while the engine

washed out a long length of permanent
^Yay, or have submerged it to an impass-
able depth. Is it surprising, therefore, that

was standing still. Directly it commenced
to move, however, the light went out,
and resolutely refused to burn while the

in some countries railway traffic is held up locomotive was in motion. Woolley dis-

entirely 'twixt dusk and dawn ?

But the public must not be condemned

mantled his apparatus, and, somewhat
chagrined, took it back to his home for

to daylight travelling only. It has become further development upon different lines.

accustomed to luxurious sleep-
m& coaches, and has devel-
oped the tendency to move

His initial effort spurred another in-
ventor to action. This was Charles J.
Jenney, Avho, in 1885, produced

from point to point during the hours when an electric headlight which was

business is suspended, and sleeps away the

interval of inactivity. In order to meet

these requirements attempts, therefore,

were made to provide the driver with a

more efficient means of illuminating the

track ahead for a considerable distance,

so that perfect safety might be attained

when travelling at express speed during

the night.

The electric light was an obvious hand-

Jenney's
Attempt.

placed on one of the engines of

the Big Four Railroad, running between
Indianapolis and Cincinnati. But Jenney
experienced difficulties similar to those
which had befallen Woolley, although
the railway company in this instance,
recognising the possible germ of a great
idea, persevered with the innovation, and
endeavoured to make it work. Still, their
perseverance proved unavailing, and so,

Woolley's
Experiments.

maid to this end. Accordingly, efforts were after making a few trips, the machine was

made to adapt it to railway taken off.

service. Experiments were

undertaken in this country,
but the lack of encouragement for such a
contrivance was a deterrent to endeavour.
Besides, so many difficulties of an exas-
perating nature loomed up and defied
subjugation so completely that inventors
became somewhat disheartened, and aban-

Woolley had by no means been idle,
though it was not until 1887 that his next
effort attracted attention. In

that year a new equipment was An

Unreliable

brought out by the American

doned their labours. In the United States,
however, where the demand for such a

Headlight Company, and was
placed upon an engine of the Cleveland,
Akron, and Columbus Railroad, and also
on one of the Pan Handle Railroad, run-
ning between Indianapolis and Columbus,

RENDERING RAILWAY TRAVEL'

The electric searchlight of the locomotive when focused correctly, as in this illustration, throws a magnificent)

a mile ahead. This striking picture, photographed by the electri'i

otosrafh by courteous permission of the FyU-National KUclric H«,dHflil Comfany, Chicat', U.S.A.

AT NIGHT AS SAFE AS BY DAY.

white ray sufficiently powerful to enable the driver to detect an object the size ot a man on the road half

headlight itself, shows how brilliantly the track is illumined.

190

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Ohio. While these machines were con-
sidered to be a marked improvement upon
anything which had been attempted in
regard to electric locomotive headlights up
to this time, they proved far from reliable.
The railways struggled with them for
several weeks, and then reluctantly re-
linquished them ; the manufacturing com-

THE TURBINE DYNAMO OF THE PYLE-
NATIONAL ELECTRIC HEADLIGHT.

pany discontinued experiments and went
out of business.

In 1888, Robert B. F. Pierce, of India-
napolis, appeared upon the scene. He
foresaw the future of such a headlight,
and determined to bring it to a successful
issue. He interested a few of his associates
in the project, among whom was George
B. Pyle, an electrical engineer. The patents
of other inventors were acquired, and with
this nucleus the National Electric Head-
light Company was organised, with Pyle
toiling strenuously to evolve success out
of failures. Finally, he effected certain
improvements, and a machine was sub-
mitted to the railways. It was fitted to
an engine, and after a few galling fail-
ures and many adjustments, completed a
journey from one terminal to another
without a breakdown. This achievement
was hailed wi'-Ii unfeigned delight, and
the distinction of being the first company
to produce a working electric headlight
thus belongs to the above organisation.
But the machine did not triumph com-

pletely. It proved quite a trouble-maker
as time went on, and the railways only
embraced it with lukewarm enthusiasm.
The movement languished, the company
experienced many vicissitudes, and ter-
minated its existence upon the death of
Mr. Pierce.

In 1897, Mr. Royal C. Vilas took up the
idea, and founded the Pyle-National
Electric Headlight Company. He encou-
raged further experimenting, although up
to the time of his taking up the subject
fewer than 175 electric headlights had been
sold in the country. Under this powerful
stimulation, the invention was improved
out of recognition within a very short time.
At last Vilas announced that he had got
just what the railways required, and they
were given the headlights to test, and to
satisfy themselves.

The optimism of the inventors proved
to be justified fully, and appreciation of
the invention was forthcoming instantly.
In the following year 472 of these head-
lights were installed upon the locomotives
of the various railways throughout the
United States and Canada. To-day its
powerful penetrating beams are seen illu-
mining the pathway through the towns,
over the plains, and through the gloomy
fastnesses of the mountains from the
Straits of Magellan to Alaska ; in the
antipodes, China and Japan, India, Russia,
and Scandinavia.

The success of this invention, once its
reliability was assured, has been pheno-
menal. This is due to the efficiency of
the machine under all and varying con-
ditions of railway working, simplicity of
the details and construction, durability,
and fool-proofness. Obviously, such an
accessory to the locomotive must be un-
assailably reliable, free from liability to
fail at a critical moment, and demand
the minimum of attention on the part
of the driver, who cannot be expected to
be possessed of more than the rudiments
of electrical knowledge.

RAILWAY SEARCHLIGHTS

191

THE TURBINE WHEEL
OF THE DYNAMO.

The Pyle headlight is a small, compact
machine, comprising a turbine-driven
dynamo, which is mounted on top of the
boiler, just in front of the cab, with suit-
able steam con-
nection to the
turbine, and
an exhaust so
arranged as to
enable the spent
steam to pass
over the roof
of the cab. A
simple control
is placed at a
convenient
point on the
footplate, giv-
ing the driver
complete com-
mand over the
machine.

The dynamo

is of simple construction, the armature
being held on the turbine-shaft by one
screw. The electrical balance is so
perfect that no sparks are seen at the
brushes when the adjustments have been
made perfectly. The turbine rotor, or
wheel, is of the built-up type, made from
cast steel, and carrying a single row of
buckets, securely dovetailed in the peri-
phery of the wheel. The advantage of
this arrangement is that all possibility of
the buckets working loose, or being thrown
out by centrifugal force, is obviated com-
pletely.

The governing arrangement, likewise, is
of the simplest form, having but one wear-
ing surface, the friction of which is taken
up by a composition disc, so that no internal
lubrication is required. The governor is
set at 2,400 revolutions per minute, the
normal velocity of the turbine, but the
speed may be varied as desired by alter-
ing the tension of the spring through the
movement of two nuts. The steam-valve
and stem are made from tobin bronze,

which reduces the wear and cutting effect
to the minimum.

The steam is led to the veins on the
rotor through a single nozzle, and attached
to the nozzle-block are two guide passages,
which direct the impingement and flow of
the steam to and from the veins on the
rotor, thereby producing the very highest
efficiency that has been attained so far in
a turbine of this size. The turbine-wheel
is carried upon a plain sleeve bronze bear-
ing, while the armature is mounted upon
ball bearings. The dynamo is enclosed,
and of the internal magnetised type pro-
portioned to carry heavy overload with-
out injury to the machine.

For ordinary service an arc lamp is
used, and the ordinary oil headlight can
be adapted to electric operation. The
American locomotive headlights are more
formidable than those employed in these
islands. Conversion from one to the other
is simple, and may be effected easily and

A HEADLIGHT WITH INCANDESCENT ELECTRIC
LAMP FOR SHUNTING LOCOMOTIVES.

quickly. All that is necessary is to remove
the oil reservoir and burner, together with
all supports and guides from the parabolic
reflector with which the oil light is fitted.

THREADING THE GixAND CANYON OF THE ERASER.
The plotting of the Canadian Pacific Railway through the mountains of British Columbia

constitutes one of the greatest achievements of the railway engineer.
7

THE BRIDGE OVER FRASER CANYON.

The Canadian Pacific Railway— II

THE ROAD THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS

ROM Winnipeg westwards the
route proposed by Sir Sand-
ford Fleming was abandoned
in favour of one nearer the
International boundary. This
decision was made for clim-
atic, strategical, and financial
reasons. Although the Fleming location
traversed the richest stretches of the
west, the company opined that it ventured
into a country which was too cold to
facilitate rapid development, a fallacy
which was not exploded for thirty years.

25 193

Again, it was considered that if the line
were placed close to the International
boundary it would be impossible for it to
be paralleled by a Canadian rival farther
south, and thus be in danger of having its
traffic filched away by a competitive route.
Thirdly, there was the question of expense.
The Yellowhead Pass was undeniably the
easiest passage through the mountains,
but it entailed a sweeping detour, as com-
pared with a more direct traverse of the
range, while also heavy and expensive
bridging over the wide rivers would be

194

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Across the
Prairie.

entailed. As money was tight, every mile
saved was a vital consideration. Accord-
ingly the fiftieth parallel was hugged as
closely as possible as far as Calgary,
traversing a rich wheat country for 400
miles, and a grazing belt for 200 miles.

The prairie is considered generally to be
a level plain, but this is scarcely a correct
appreciation of its character-
istics. Rather is it a series of
steppes, or very wide benches,
mounting higher and higher from Winni-
peg to the foothills of the Rockies. The
country being analogous to that traversed
by the Northern Pacific, the terrors of
winter were kept in mind. The Arctic
blizzards have a magnificent sweep for
hundreds of miles without courting an
obstacle, and it was feared that the railway
cuttings would be subject to severe attack.
Consequently the permanent way was
carried on embankments as much as
possible, and where cuttings were un-
avoidable they were given wide, flattened
slopes, so as not to offer such a ready
catch-pit for the drifting snow as a deep
trench with steep sides. The spoil removed
from these cuttings was carried some
distance away and deposited in the form
of a ridge running parallel to the track to
form a snow screen. Subsequently wooden
fencing was used for screens, these being
withdrawn and stacked during the summer
and set up on the approach of winter.
But the snow fiend did not prove so ter-
rible as had been feared, inasmuch as the
line when first opened did not suffer a
block exceeding some six hours or so at a
time.

Although the contract for the railway
was let to one firm, actual construction was
completed by sub-contractors. The line
was divided up into " stations " — 100 feet
sections representing the length of a chain
— one or more of which were taken over by
each sub-contractor. In this way con-
struction was spread over a distance of 100
to 200 miles. On the prairie the work was

easy for the most part. In summer ever
ounce of muscle was crowded on and evei
moment of time was pressed into servic
At first the vaunted severity of the wint<
scared many of the graders away to moi
southern climes in the late autumn, but tho;
who had the temerity to stay behind foun
that, providing care was exercised, no il
effects were suffered. Thick woollen unde:
clothing and heavy outer garments secure
the body against the cold. Fur caps wit
the flaps let down over the ears protecte
the vulnerable parts of the head. Heav
woollen stockings encased with stout, higl
leather boots, and with another pair or t\\
of stockings over the latter, kept the fee
warm, and gave a grip upon the slipper
frozen surface, while thick gauntlets hel
the hands proof against frost-bite. Tl:
cold certainly was intense, as it must I
when the mercury drops some 30 or 4
degrees below, but the air was dry an
crisp. The blizzard was the foe mos
dreaded, but the men took the precautio
to keep fairly close to their camps unde
such conditions.

When the company decided to folio1
the international boundary as closely a
possible, the Government stip-
ulated that the mountains .,
should be crossed at least
100 miles north of the frontier, and at th
same time restricted the maximum grad
to 116 feet per mile. Accordingly th
company decided to strike through th
sea of mountains from Calgary, followin
the natural troughs as much as possibh
The surveys proved that the end could b
met . most satisfactorily and cheaply b
following the Bow River. This gave
grade of 1 per cent. — 52'8 feet per mile—
the mountains being entered through
natural gateway known as "The Gap." I
is a tedious upward climb, winding amon
the crags and crawling along terraces to th
summit at Stephen, where the metals note!
5,329 feet, the line climbing 1,901 feet L
the 123 miles from Calgary.

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY

195

This is the " Divide," whence the waters
from the glaciers split to run down either
side of the mountain on their way to the
Arctic or to the Pacific. In reality it is a

engineers found heavy tunnelling unavoid-
able. This meant the expenditure of money,
which was scarce, and the consumption of
time, which was more valuable, so the

THE CISCO CANTILEVER BRIDGE. SPANNING THE FRASER RIVER.

vast marsh, so that the summit was over-
come without a tunnel or even a snowshed.
From this point the descent is made along
that wild, turbulent waterway which sprawls
from one side of the ravine to the other—
the Kicking Horse River. Here the descent
was found to be so sudden, that, in order
to preserve the maximum gradient, the

engineers were enjoined to discover and
run a " temporary line." They did so,
but it involved the introduction of 4'4
miles with a grade of 4r5 per cent. — 237'6
feet per mile— against eastbound traffic
between Hector at an altitude of 5,207 feet,
and Field at 4,064 feet. Moreover, a
" temporary curve " of 23 degrees — 249-13

196

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

BUILDING THE LETHBRIDGE VIADUCT.
Showing erecting cage just commencing work on the span over Belly River.

feet radius — had to be laid down because a
short tunnel, which was accepted to main-
tain the alignment, collapsed suddenly
from the movement of the clay through
which it was being driven. This " tem-
porary line " fulfilled all the requirements
of the Canadian Pacific Railway for over
a quarter of a century. It was not until
the threatened competition of the Grand
Trunk Pacific arose that this "Big Hill,"
as it was colloquially called, was abolished,
as I have described in a previous chapter.
Issuing from the Rockies at Golden, on
the banks of the Columbia River, another
frowning barrier looms directly ahead —
the Selkirks. It was impossible to follow
the waterway, as it runs for many miles to
the north to describe a curve around the
extremity of the mountainous barrier, so
the engineers went straight ahead. The
going through the Rockies had been ex-

asperating, but that through the Selkirk
was a thousand times more so. Here th
railway engineers had no trail of the India
or the coureurs du bois of the Hudson Ba
Company to help them. They were corr
pelled to seek a path for themselves, a
very few, if any, Red Men ever had pen<
trated the Selkirks, the twisting, circuitou
Columbia River being their highway.

An American engineer, Major Rogers, i
conjunction with Mr. Moberly, set out t
discover a possible highway through thi
chain, and it proved an exciting an
adventurous undertaking. Eight Indian
accompanied the first-named, four of whor
were lost at one stroke. While crawlin
round a dangerous lofty ledge they slippe
over the side and were seen no more
But the intrepid engineer succeeded, an
the route followed by the Canadian Pacifi
Railway through this range offers an intei

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY

197

esting, and one of the very few instances
•where the White Man's trail has preceded,
instead of following, that of the Indian.

There was one fact which Major Rogers
impressed upon his colleagues on his
return. The engineering difficulties were
not particularly forbidding, but there was
one far more formidable antagonist — snow.
The steep slopes of the mountain forming
this barrier lend themselves to avalanches
and rock slides, and of such an awful
severity as to promise short shrift for the
handiwork of man. The difficulty would
not be so much in laying the track as in
preserving it once it had been built.

The constructional forces were concen-
trated upon this range, and were urged to
spare no effort to accomplish as much of
the grade as was possible during the short
summer. The navvies responded to the
call, and the permanent way grew with

marvellous rapidity. True it was a pioneer
line, lightly built, as the problem was to
get through with all speed ; but it was
quite equal to the Union Pacific original
track, which had been taken as a standard.
When winter came round, work was sus-
pended, but corps of engineers were left
buried in the range to observe the extent,
character, and paths of the snow move-
ments, so as to enable adequate steps to
be taken to protect the line. These men,
virtually imprisoned in a white, frigid tomb,
carried out their work to excellent effect,
although their reports were rather dis-
maying. Their observations proved that
the line would have to be protected virtually
for the whole of its length across the range.
Four miles of heavy timber snowsheds
accordingly were built, not in one con-
tinuous length, but in 53 sections. For-
tunately, there was plenty of timber in

THE LETHBR1DGE VIADUCT. ALBERTA: IT IS 5,327 FEET 7* INCHES LONG AND 314 FEET HIGH.

198

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

the immediate vicinity, but even then the
felling of the trees and the fashioning of
the huge balks occupied considerable time,
and construction entailed an expense rang-
ing from £3 to £40 per lineal foot, with
the price for the most part nearer the
latter than the former figure.

down the sides of the crib, and, its cours
being deflected, it rumbles over the rooi
of the sheds on either hand to expend it
destructive forces harmlessly in the valle
below. When this " split-fence " was trie
it was found to meet the situation so con:
plctely that it has been adopted freely.

LOOKING ALONG THE DECK OF LETHBRIDGE VIADUCT.
Showing girders rising above the rails and forming a trough for traffic.

Yet this did not meet the situation
completely. The snow, after its usual
paths had been discovered and guarded,
swerved with characteristic capriciousness
to strike the line between the different
sheds.

Sir William Van Home, as in many other
instances, came to the rescue, and solved
the difficulty. He could not anticipate
the path of the moving snow, but he could
wreck its progress. He devised what is
now known as the " split-fence." This is
a massive structure of V-shape, set high
up on the mountain side above the space
between the snowsheds, with the apex
pointing crest upwards. This fence is a
heavy crib filled with boulders, while its
sides are splayed. The descending snow-
slide, hitting the point of the fence, is
divided in twain. Each moiety rushes

Crossing the summit of the Selkirks a
4,351 feet, the engineers were faced wit
another sudden descent into the Illecillewae
Valley, which they overcame by a loo
winding down the mountain side. It is
spectacular piece of work worthy of rankin
with the abandoned " Big Hill." In th
course of seven miles the line swings dow
637 feet. The line strikes across a vallej
touching the base of Rock Peak, bend
back for about a mile, gives a sharp sweep
and once more cuts across the rift t
pick up the floor of the valley. In th
descent the line describes a double " S,
and two gleaming ribbons of steel withi:
100 feet of one another are seen on th
steep slope.

While the builders were pushing tliei
metals westwards another force was grap
pling with difficulties innumerable in th

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY

199

eastern advance from Vancouver. The
Cascades press hardly upon the Pacific
seaboard in Canada, so that heavy going
was encountered directly the ocean was
left. The engineers followed the only
practicable passage — that of the Fraser
River — and they clung to it tenaciously,
blasting a narrow terrace through the
awe-inspiring, wedge-shaped canyons, high
above the foaming torrent, to receive the
rails. Progress was slow, since the cramped
quarters did not permit the concentration
of large bodies upon the work. Where the
Fraser and the Thompson Rivers meet in
swirling, scurrying madness, a heavy canti-
lever bridge was thrown from ledge to
ledge, which ranked for many years as one
of the largest in America.

Labour was a constant anxiety upon
this mountain section. White men then,

as now, could not be obtained,
Chinese as except at prodigious expense.

So the Chinaman was called
in, even as had been the case with
the Union Pacific. Three shillings a day
was his pay, and the grade in British
Columbia recalled the roaring times of
railway building farther south. The China-
man is a born and ardent gambler ; so no
camp was complete without its saloon.
A certain degree of lawlessness prevailed
and defied to be quelled : it was every man
for himself, with life held cheaply, and
pleasures of a strenuous character.

But the Chinaman, when he settles down
to work, is a plodding labourer. The
" Chinks " drove the steel highway through
351 miles of the roughest country in the
west, where Nature was dead set against
the engineer and did not give him the
slightest foothold. It was blast, cut, fill,
bridge, and viaduct for every mile of
the way, with explosives as the only useful
weapons, the roars of which punctuated the
interminable chanting of the drills. But
on the morning of November 7th, 1885, the
roar and clanging ceased. The advancing
arm from the Atlantic met that coming

from the Pacific : the last spike was driven
home by Lord Strathcona; Vancouver
was in railway touch with Montreal. By
strenuous work, Father Time had been
beaten by six years, because the Govern-
ment contract called for completion in.
1891.

Since the first steel trail of the Canadian
Pacific Railway was driven across the
continent, an alternative route
through the mountains has Th.e L«th-
been taken in hand, and is viaduct.
advancing rapidly towards com-
pletion. This runs via the Crow's Nest
Pass, some miles nearer the international
frontier, through a rich coal region, and
crosses the Rockies at a lower elevation.
On this section, however, is a notable piece
of work equal in magnitude to the re-
alignment of the railway through the
Kicking Horse Pass. In running the metals
38| miles from Lethbridge to MacLeod the
deep, wide ravine through which the Belly
River winds had to be crossed. When
these two points were linked in the first,
instance, the line was a pioneer road in
the true sense of the word, abounding
with curves running up to 7 degrees —
818'5 feet radius — and with grades of 1
per cent. (52'8 feet per mile), while twenty-
wooden bridges, aggregating 12,063 feet,
and varying in height from 9 to 117 feet,
carried the metals across the heavy un-
dulations.

As the life of the timber trestles had
expired, it was decided to rebuild these 38^
miles. Instead of having so many bridges,
ranging from 16 to 2,933 feet in length, to
cross the depressions, the engineer con-
solidated them into two big structures, so
as to reduce the grade, ease the curves, and
decrease the mileage. The bridges con-
stitute the most striking features of this
re-alignment, the Lethbridge Viaduct, as
it is called, being 5,327 feet 1\ inches in
length, and with the rails 314 feet above
the bed of the river at one point. The
second structure crosses Old Man River,.

2OO

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

and is 1,900 feet long, by 146 feet high in the extreme cold, and a strike among th

the centre.

The longer bridge is borne upon 33
lattice steel towers or bents, anchored to

workmen. In its construction 12,200 ton
of steel were used, which demanded 64
cars to carry it to the site, and when th

concrete plinths carried down to a firm steel was set over 7,600 gallons of pain
foundation in the silt. The steel was set were required to give it two coats.

HOW THE C.P.R. MAKES ITS WAY THROUGH THE FRASER CANYON.
Four tunnels are to be seen in this view.

by means of a traveller which weighed
712,000 pounds in working condition. As
the wind howls through this depression
with great force, extreme precautions were
taken to protect the men on their lofty
perches, an assembling cage being supported
from the end of the traveller wherein they
performed their appointed task of riveting
up. In this manner loss of life was mini-
mised, only two men being killed, but
not in direct connection with the work.
The bridge was completed in a remarkably
short space of time, notwithstanding com-
plete cessation during the winter, owing to

When the railway was opened for throug
traffic on May 26th, 1887, many critic
maintained that the railway would neve
pay its way. The present prosperity c
the -enterprise, which now ranks as th
largest individual transportation concen
in the world, operating some 11,000 mile
of line, has refuted the detractors com
pletely. The Canadian taxpayer, howevci
learned one lesson. He made a present
through the Government, of £14,000,000
made up of £5,000,000 original subsidy
713 miles of completed line which cos
£7,000,000, and a further £2,000,000 ii

THE "JAWS OF DEATH" BRIDGE IN THE THOMPSON RIVER CANYON.

2O2

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

the re-purchase of 7,000,000 acres of land
at six shillings per acre which had been
given to the company in the first instance.
At the opening date 18,000,000 acres of
choice land remained from the original gift
of 25,000,000 acres. The land grant in
the case of the Canadian Pacific Railway,

as in many other similar undertakings, hai
constituted its sheet anchor. It is no1
surprising that the Canadian taxpayer o:
to-day concludes that his Governmenl
made a poor bargain on his behalf, anc
does not view other railway undertaking!
with a similar liberality.

Photograph by W. Notman & Son, Montreal.

THE SUMMER AND WINTER LINES OF THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY THROUGH

THE SELKIRKS.

The open line is used during the former and the protected metals during the latter season.

Photograph by A. G. ll'ehrli, Ktlchberg, Zurich*

TRAIN CROSSING THE SCHNURTOBEL BRIDGE. THE LONGEST ON THE LINE.

The First European Rack Mountain

Railway

THE CURIOUS LINE WHICH RUNS FROM VITZNAU, UP THE RIGI, TO
KULM, 5,905 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL

HEN the possibility of moving
wheeled vehicles along a pair
of rails by the aid of the
steam engine first was dis-
cussed it was considered quite
impracticable for sufficient fric-
tion to be produced between
the wheel and the rail to propel the loco-
motive and the train. Bearing in mind
the small area of contact between the two
surfaces, this feeling, in the days when the

locomotive was young, is quite excusable.
It was held to be imperative that the
locomotive wheels should be provided with
teeth or studs disposed around the peri-
pheries of the wheels and engaging with
holes in the track to secure locomotion.

Accordingly, when John Blenkinsop laid
down a railway at the Middleton Collieries,
near Leeds, in 1811, he introduced a rail
carrying corrugated teeth, outside one of
the track rails, with which a driving wheel,

203

204

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

mounted outside the carrying wheel, geared.
Two years later Blackett, at the Wylam
Collieries, argued that Blenkinsop was wrong
in his contentions, and that a train could
be impelled under adhesion alone providing

ciple did not lie dormant for many years
An American engineer suggested that th(
method should be adopted on steep grades
the rack being laid between and not outside
the metals. In 1847 a railway betweer

THE FIRST TYPE OF LOCOMOTIVE. WITH VERTICAL BOILER, USED ON THE RIGI RAILWAY.

the grade was not too steep. He proved
his theories in a practical manner, with the
result that the Blenkinsop tooth system
became superseded, and Stephenson, when
he directed his energies towards the per-
fection of the steam locomotive, adopted
the adhesive principle.

Although Blenkinsop was proved to be
wrong in one phase of the argument, he
unwittingly offered the railway engineer a
means of overcoming gradients which are
too steep to be worked under adhesion.
He conceived the rack railway, which now
enables the masses to indulge in the sport
of mountaineering in safety, luxury, and
comfort. Blenkinsop's rack railway was
torn up — sections are preserved in the
South Kensington Museum — but the prin-

Indianapolis and Madison was built upor
this principle. In 1858 another American
Sylvester Marsh, concluded that, although
the rack might be superfluous in connectior
with trunk line working, it could be turnec
to useful purpose for scaling lofty mountain;
merely for the transportation of sightseers
and tourists. He sought and obtained the
concession to build such a line to the top
of Mount Washington, in New Hampshire
U.S.A., and in 1868-9 this line was built.

But although Marsh indicated the possi-
bilities of the rack railway, it was Switzer-
land which brought the idea to an advanced
and perfected stage of development. This
was only to be expected, seeing that the
" playground of Europe " is vitally depend-
ent upon its tourist traffic. Obviously,

THE FIRST EUROPEAN RACK MOUNTAIN RAILWAY 205

the more attractions it can offer to visitors
the heavier must be its revenue from this
source. Tourists will travel miles to enjoy
a " magnificent panorama," and what
better coign of vantage is possible than a
mountain top whence are unfolded rolling
vistas of glacier, lake, river, and snow-
crowned peak ? To the Swiss nation the
invention of the rack railway has been the
biggest boon of the century ; " Mountain-
eering by rail " has become the most popular
pastime in the world.

Still, in Switzerland, this movement was
born independently of America. While
Sylvester Marsh was striving to secure his
concession for the Mount Washington rail-
way, Mr. Nicholas Riggenbach, who took
the first steam locomotive into Switzerland

rack railway and locomotive for operating
the same. Nothing further appears to have
been done in connection with the idea by
the inventor, who at this time apparently
was ignorant of Marsh's similar efforts in
the United States. But when the Mount
Washington railway was completed Riggen-
bach made a trip to North America, and
inspected the line, which, though inde-
pendently conceived, was virtually built
upon the principle he had evolved and
had patented seven years previously.
Upon his return to his native land, in
1869, he immediately built a short length
of railway working upon the rack
system at some quarries near Berne,
where he tested his theories.

When this railway was completed

THE LATEST TYPE OF LOCOMOTIVE IN USE ON THE RIGI RAILWAY.

in 1847, and who was locomotive superin- naturally it became an object of interest

tendent of the Central Swiss Railway in among engineers. Among these were

Oltcn, took out a patent on August 12th, Messrs. Naeff and Zschokke. They were

1863, for a new system of track and loco- impressed with the possibilities of the idea,

motives for the ascent of mountains — a and, joining forces with Riggenbach, it was

2O6

RAILWAY WOiNDERS OF THE WORLD

decided to test it upon a comprehensive
scale — to provide some popular mountain
with this means of ascent. Casting around,
their selection fell upon the Rigi, which
had come into popular favour because
Heinrich Keller, the well-known geographer,
had returned from a trip to its then difficult
summit, with enthusiastic descriptions of
the wonderful views revealed from its
crest. His pictures so appealed to the
public, and made such a deep impression,
that kindred spirits, Dr. Abel, Mr. Escher
Von der Luith, Dr. Horner and Mr. Keller,
subscribed between them the sum of £100
for the provision of a hotel upon the Rigi
summit, for the convenience of those who
toiled to the top to enjoy the view. It was
an unpretentious building, being merely an
Alpine hut such as is to be found on
every hand throughout the Swiss and
Austrian ranges to-day for the convenience
of mountaineers. It was appreciated
by the scores who, attracted to the
crest, embarked upon the journey, and
was the forerunner of the existing
magnificent hostelry which now crowns
the summit of the Rigi.

Thereupon Riggenbach, Naeff, and

Zschokke sought a concession to provide

the Rigi with a mountain

T-h?.Ro.u.te railway, since it was realised
of the Line. "

that this peak offered the

most promising opportunity to sound the
public attitude towards such facilities.
The requisite powers were obtained, and
Vitznau, at the foot of the mountain, on
the shores of Lake Lucerne, was selected
as the lower terminal. From that point
the line follows a winding ascent to Kulm,
at an altitude of 5,900 feet, the total length
of the line, which is of standard gauge, being
4-38 miles. The maximum gradient was
set down at 20 per cent. — 1 in 5 — while the
curves are of 591 feet radius. The con-
figuration of the mountain side fortunately
assisted the constructional engineers, the
only two heavy works being the Schwanden
Tunnel, 240 feet in length, and the imme-

diately adjacent Schnurtobel Bridge, 235
feet long, supported on five trestles, over
the Schnurtobel gorge, through which
rushes the Grubisbach 70 feet below.
Both the tunnel and the bridge are upon
the maximum grade, while the bridge is
on a curve of 591 feet radius.

The rack rail designed by Riggenbach
differed from that used by Marsh on the
Mount Washington railway,

and was a distinct improve- |?igf "b*ch>s

Rack Rail.

ment thereon. It was placed
centrally between the running rails, and
was formed of two channel irons 4f inches
deep by 2| inches wide, the vertical
web being \ inch, and the flanges | inch
thick. These two channel irons are spaced
5 inches apart, and the teeth of wrought
iron are riveted into them at each end.
Instead of using round teeth, as Marsh
adopted, Riggenbach preferred the taper
form which experience has shown to be
preferable, inasmuch as it not only ensures
safe locking of the gear at different depths,
but resists more efficiently the tendency
of the gear-wheel to climb the rack, so
that full security against derailment is
ensured. Riggenbach's type of tooth, with
certain modifications, has been adopted
since in all types of racks for railways.
When built the iron track was laid upon
longitudinal and transverse sleepers, but
the effluxion of time demanding the over-
hauling of the railway in 1885, the wooden
sleepers were removed in favour of iron,
while the track was relaid with steel rails.
The first locomotive, like the rack, had
to be designed especially for the work, and
was of unusual design. It was
constructed at the Oltcn works A Vertical
of the Central Railway, with Locomotive.
which Riggenbach was asso-
ciated, and comprised a vertical boiler, set at
such a rake to the horizontal as to reduce as
far as possible the variations in water level
arising from the differences in the gradients
which had to be negotiated. The boiler
was mounted on a four-wheeled carriage,

208

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Photograph by E, Goets, Lucerne,

VITZNAU, THE LOWER TERMINUS. SHOWING TURNTABLE
AND SIDING TRACKS.

the rear axle with its wheels running loose.
The cylinders were placed outside the
frames, and by means of connecting rods
and cranks drove the intermediate shaft,
which carried two pinions gearing into
spur wheels having 43 teeth and keyed
on the driving or lower axle. On this axle
also was keyed centrally the toothed wheel,
25 inches in diameter, and having 20 teeth,
which meshed with the teeth in the central
rack. Consequently, through this gearing,
the vehicle was propelled either forwards
or backwards. The second, or upper, axle
not only carried the two carrying wheels
running along the rails, but a central spur
wheel as well, which geared with the rack.
This wheel was practically an emergency
braking device to be brought into action

the

in the event of an accident t
the driving rack wheel.

The carriage — one comprise
each train then as now — WE
pushed up the mountain an
trailed in the descent, but WE
not coupled to the engine. ]
had seating capacity for 5
passengers, and was fitted wit
powerful independent brake;
so that even when fully loade
it was able to be pulled u
instantly on the steepest bank;
independently of the engin<
in case of a mishap befallin
the latter. The normal brakin
facilities on the engine operate
upon the disks of the cranl
shaft. In the descent no stear
was employed, movement bein
by gravity controlled by an ir
genious method of introducin
air into the steam cylinders
the valves of which wer
reversed while the regulate
was shut off. Air, drawn int
the cylinders by the movemen
of the pistons, became com
pressed, thereby exerting ;
gentle retarding effect upoi
progress of the train. A valve

worked by the driver and throttling th
exhaust of the air, served to govern thi
braking action.

After some eleven years' service th
vertical boiler was abandoned in favou
of the horizontal type. Similar considera
tions concerning changing levels of th
water arising from the differences in th
gradients had to be borne in mind, and thi
gives the engine the appearance of tiltin;
forward when on a level track. In th
latest Rigi locomotives the cylinders ar
placed at the leading end, outside thi
frames, the driving cog-wheel, engaging
with the teeth of the rack, owing to it
larger diameter, being placed close behinc
the front carrying axle. The rear axli

THE FIRST EUROPEAN RACK MOUNTAIN RAILWAY 209

carries an emergency rack brake as in the
original engine, while the disposition of the
Brakes is the same, with the addition of a
entrifugal governor whereby the speed is
ontrolled automatically. When this limit
s exceeded the steam brake is brought into
service. This automatic steam brake is a
special and ingenious device, and its reli-
ability and efficiency having become em-
ihasised, the Government now compel its
installation upon all steam rack railway
locomotives used upon the Swiss lines.

Travelling upon the Rigi railway cannot
be said to be excessively fast, seeing that
it averages about 4-7 miles per hour with
an average load of 25 to 28 tons. There-
fore any qualms on the part of the timorous
are unnecessary. To overcome the 3,937
feet difference in altitude between Vitznau
and Kulm 74 minutes are occupied in
either direction. This may seem slow ; but
before the coming of the railway the climb

involved a tedious, fatiguing toil afoot of
3 1 hours.

The railway was completed in 1871 and
proved an instant success. The novelty of
mountaineering by rail proved irresistible,
and the novelty never has worn off so far
as the Rigi is concerned. Now more than
120,000 passengers are carried up and down
in the course of the year. The ascent costs
about 5s. lOd. ; the descent 50 per cent. less.
In summer ten trains are run daily in each
direction, and if the exigencies so demand
the total may be raised to eighteen, enab-
ling some 600 passengers to be sent to and
fro in the day.

The Rigi railway, being the first of its
character in Europe, always has compelled
historic interest, but since the first train
crawled to the summit of the mountain in
1871 mountain peaks innumerable have
been subjugated by the rack railway, oper-
ated both by steam and electricity.

•'.

ROMITI STATION. WHERE THE ASCENDING AND DESCENDING TRAINS PASS

Photograph by permission of the Great Eastern Railway.

THE GREAT EASTERN "DECAPOD" IN COMPARISON WITH AN ORDINARY TANK

ENGINE.

Locomotive Giants— II

SOME ENGLISH DEVELOPMENTS IN MONSTER ENGINES

N discussing the big locomotive,
as it is exemplified in various
parts of the world, especially
in North America, there is a
tendency to overlook what has
been, and still is being, accom-
plished in Great Britain. While
the railways of these islands offer nothing
to compare in size and power with the
Mikado, Mastodon, and ten-wheel Con-
solidation, or the articulated Mallet, yet
they have produced many engines which
compel attention.

So far as the British Islands are con-
cerned the physical characteristics of the
country render the mammoth engine un-
necessary. The engineers who laid our
steel highways in the first place recognised
the significance of the easy level line.
Nature certainly favoured them in their
work, inasmuch as there are no towering
mountain chains to overcome, necessitating
sudden heavy rises and falls. The summit
level of 1,484 feet above the sea, attained
on the Highland Railway between Dal-

whinnie and Dalnaspidal stations, whic
represents the highest point at which tli
shriek of an express is heard in Grea
Britain, appears a mere molehill beside th
10,836 feet notched in the Marshall Pas
of the Denver and Rio Grande, or th
5,329 feet attained upon the Canadia
Pacific among the Rockies.

Nor are the gradients so severe. Whcrea
a train may be called upon to pant ani
throb for mile after mile up a bank risin
1 in 25 through the Rockies and Sierras
climbs of 1 in 50 represent the averag
maximum upon British railways, and ii
the majority of cases these are over onl;
short distances. True, here and ther
are short stretches of steeper banks. Fo
instance, on the South Eastern and Chathan
Railway there is a heavy 594 yards rui
between Canterbury and Whitstable wher
the engine has to toil up a rise of 1 in 28
Again, on the North Eastern Railway theri
is a very wicked piece of road betweei
Kirkby Stephen and Barnard Castle, when
the train is called upon to overcome i

LOCOMOTIVE GIANTS

211

difference in level of 725 feet in 8'75 miles,
while between Ferryhill and Hartlepool is
the Kelloe Bank, which offers an incline of
1 in 36 for about 1,300 yards. The London
and North Western Railway also has one
or two crippling rises at 1 in 33 for short
distances upon its system, and on the
Great Northern there is a heavy three
miles between Drighlington and Batley
West, where the ascent ranges from 1 in 40
to 1 in 50. In many instances, however,
these adverse stretches exist only on
branch lines, the main through roads, over
which the fastest and heaviest traffic
moves, having been built or improved to
offer a ruling gradient which is by no
means hard upon locomotive effort.

The ruling gradient, it may be pointed
out, constitutes the key to the whole

a maximum rise of 1 in 200, and that a
single engine is able to move a train weigh-
ing 500 tons over this section at 30 miles
an hour, but on the succeeding stretch
the maximum grade becomes 1 in 100.
Now, the foregoing engine will be unable
to continue handling the same load at the
same speed. The train either will have to
be divided, a more powerful engine used to
negotiate the 1 in 100 banks, or additional
locomotive power wiU have to be utilised,
either in the capacity of a pusher or a
pilot.

In these islands possibly the issue is
not so serious as in other countries where
the physical conditions vary from wide
expanses of gently rolling plains to tower-
ing mountain ranges. But in order to mini-
mise the difficulty the engineer strives to

•HD^HI^HH

1'hotograpii by permission of the tirtai ILa^tern Railway.
THE "DECAPOD": IT HAD FIVE PAIRS OF DRIVING WHEELS AND WEIGHED 70 TONS.

situation. As its name implies, its severity " bunch " his grades. The line, say, of

rules the hauling and speed capacity of a 1,000 miles is split into sections or divisions,

single engine. For instance, suppose a each of which indicates the extent of one

stretch of road 100 miles in length has engine's run with the train. If the engineer

THE GREAT WESTERN LCCOM
Over-all length, 71 feet 2J inches; weight in running order, 94 tons. The coupled drivinj

fli by courtly of the Gnat ll-ister>i Rail

REAT BEAR."
inches in diameter. It is the only example of the Pacific type in Great Britain.

214

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

ome ~ arp
Uradients.

can succeed in compressing all his heaviest
banks into one division it means that the
additional locomotive power only will be
required upon that section. One type of
engine thus will suffice for all the easiest
sections, so that the train can be kept
intact over the whole 1,000 miles. On
the heavy grade division extra or more
powerful locomotives can be used. It may
so happen, however, that the maximum
grade is short, but very steep. Then,
instead of attaching larger or more loco-
motives, a pusher engine will help to lift
the train load over the short hump.

" Bunching the grades " is one of the
latest developments in railway practice,
short of entire elimination,
an(j ^ jg exercjsjng a bene-

ficial influence upon economi-
cal working. This idea was adopted in these
islands in the earliest days of the railway
era, although the majority of our engineers,
when faced with sudden heavy rises, made
detours in the effort to preserve the easy
line. But even then they were not always
successful. The North British Railway, for
instance, bristles with many very heavy
banks, such as the Cowlairs Incline, with
its rise of 1 in 45 for 2,200 yards, and up
which the trains with their double headers
were assisted by a cable. The Common-
head Incline, on the same railway, has an
even sharper ascent — 1 in 23 for a distance
of 440 yards.

In many instances, during recent years,

where the alignment is propitious, and

where it is possible to effect

e ,,e OCI y a pronounced saving in the
initial cost of construction
without exerting any adverse influence upon
the economics of operation, the principle
of " rushing the bank " has been adopted.
But the " velocity grade" is not viewed with
general favour by engineers. It certainly
offers many advantages upon a road running
through thinly populated country, but is
inadvisable in congested railway districts,
owing to the disorganisation of traffic which

must ensue when a train fails to attain
sufficient momentum to rush the bank, and
becomes stalled thereon until rescued by an
additional locomotive.

While the evolution of the big locomotive
in Great Britain has been somewhat rapid
during the past few years,
it has been comparatively

The

" Decapod."

free from any revolutionary
development, such as the Mallet, pro-
duced in other parts of the world. The
nearest approach to a sensation was that
produced in 1903 upon the appearance of
the " Decapod," designed by Mr. Holden
for the Great Eastern Railway. This
engine was certainly a giant of its type, and
although avowedly an experiment, it created
a considerable stir.

The Great Eastern Railway probably
handles a heavier suburban traffic than
any other trunk system in the world. By
remarkably skilful scheduling and organ-
isation, the trains engaged in this service
are handled with striking celerity, not-
withstanding the limitations imposed by
a bottleneck outside the metropolitan
terminus. The heavily congested nature
of the territory served demands smart
manipulation of the trains at the inter-
mediate stations, combined with a rapidly
accelerating capacity on the part of the
engines. At the time the " Decapod "
came upon the scene the traffic was handled
by six-coupled tank engines, which, with
a load of 200 tons, were able to attain a
speed of 30 miles an hour within 60 seconds
of starting.

Mr. Holden sought to improve upon this
performance. He set out to design an
engine capable of hauling a 50 per cent,
heavier load, and able to accelerate to a
speed of 30 miles an hour in 30 seconds.
If this were achieved, then, he argued, it
would be possible to increase the train ser-
vice as well as decreasing the train-miles,
and increasing the revenue per train.

The engine was a distinct novelty to
British practice, and possessed many inter-

LOCOMOTIVE GIANTS

215

'sting features. The five pairs of coupled

jriving wheels 54 inches in diameter,
were driven by three high-pressure cylinders

laving a diameter of 18 J inches, and a
stroke of 24 inches. The outer cylinders
drove on the third pair of wheels, which, to

'acilitate the negotiation of curves, were

langeless, while the third inside cylinder
acted upon the second pair of wheels.

The boiler was of huge size, measuring
15 feet 6 inches in length, by 5 feet 3 inches

nternal diameter; it was fitted with
<595 tubes of If inches diameter, which
afforded a total heating surface of
2,873'3 square feet. The fire-box, with a

leating surface of 131-7 square feet, had
its shell spread out over the frames in the
manner followed by the Great Northern
and London, Brighton and South Coast
Railways in connection with their Atlantic
locomotives. There were three separate
grates and ash pans, one outside the
frames on either side, and the third between,
giving an aggregate area of 42 square feet.
The trailing drivers were given a side
play of | inch, the coupling rods being
fitted with ball and socket joints. As the
cranks of the three cylinders were set at
120 degrees in relation to each other,
perfect balancing of the reciprocating parts
was secured. In running order the loco-
motive scaled 70 tons. In order to minimise
the drivers slipping, especially when starting
upon greasy rails, special attention was
devoted to the sanding apparatus, a method
of projecting the sand upon the rails by
means of compressed air being incorporated.
The locomotive was subjected to search-
ing tests under all conditions of traffic and
weather, and fulfilled the anticipation of
its designer. Unfortunately, however, it
was found to be too heavy for some of the
bridges on the system, and consequently
after a brief career was withdrawn from
service. It was taken back to the shops and
converted into an 0-8-0 engine for heavy
goods traffic.

The Great Western Railway, with its

•

2l6

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

characteristic progressive spirit, has beer
particularly enterprising in its locomotive
development, especially during the regime
of the present locomotive cngineer-in-chief,
Mr. Churchward. While successive designs
of locomotives have been somewhat varied;
they may be described as logical develop-
ments and improvements in the effort tt
secure economical operation with heaviei
loads and faster speeds. This railway has
achieved a unique and world-wide fame foi
high speeds, and the tendency at presenl
not only is to maintain, but to enhance
this reputation.

Following the American practice, the
Atlantic type was introduced for express
working, and in due course this was evolvec
into the Pacific class, which the Greal
Western Railway was the first to introduce
into this country, and which even to-daj
remains as the solitary exponent of th<
4-6-2 type in these islands. In the countrj
of its origin this class has become regardee
as the standard for long-distance expresi
traffic, where steadily maintained higl
speed with economy is the objective, ane
is undergoing widespread development, sinc<
the American engineers consider it difficul
to supersede. Thus it will be seen tha
the Great Western Railway is well abreas'
of the times. At the time " The Greal
Bear " made its debut it ranked easily a:
the largest locomotive in the country, i
position from which it has been deposee
only recently.

Its boiler measures 23 feet in length bj
5 feet 6 inches at the front, and 6 feet al
the back, external diameter, with a tota
heating surface including superheater tube:
and fire-box, of 3,400-81 square feet. Eacl
of the four high-pressure cylinders has i
diameter of 15 inches, and a stroke o
26 inches, while the working pressure o
the steam is 225 pounds. The cylinder;
drive separate coupled axles in pairs, ane
the valve gear is of the Walschaert pattern
Owing to the drivers being placed somcwha!
closer together than in the 4-6-0 class, i1

LOCOMOTIVE GIANTS

ras possible to take full advantage of the
icreased space available over the trailing
ogie in the design of the Belpaire fire-box,
n the extended smoke-box is the Swindon
uperheater, designed by Mr. Churchward.

The introduction of the superheater
eprcsents one of the most important im-
rovements which has been effected in the
beam locomotive during the past few
ears. As is well known, water evaporates
ear sea level at 212 degrees Fahr., but the
team is not a pure gas. Minute molecules
f water are associated with it, which
epreciate the power-developing properties
f the steam, so that when it passes into
he cylinders heavy condensation ensues,
'his factor increases proportionately with
he augmentation of the size of the
ylinder. The disadvantages of this
aturated steam, as it is called, are
educed as far as possible by resorting to
igh steam pressures, up to as much as
25 . pounds per square inch, in order to
et the utmost out of the engine within
he limits of gauge and weight. This in
urn demands heavy coal consumption,
ogether with adequate heating capacity in
he boiler, in order to keep the cylinders
jlly up to their work. Many locomotive
ngineers deprecate this practice of vising
igh steam pressures on the plea that the
fear and tear upon the fire-box and boiler
re enhanced, and consequently inflates the
ill for repairs and maintenance. On the
ther hand, other engineers, as a result of
Tactical experience, oppose this conten-
ion.

Some years ago the fact was realised
hat if the water present in the steam were
liminated, then the steam could be made
o perform more useful work, as it would
>e converted into a superior gas, possessed
f greater expansion properties. Under
hese conditions a smaller quantity of
team would be sufficient to accomplish
he desired end in a cylinder of given
imensions than if saturated steam were
sed. Such a development would influence
28

2l8

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The
Superheater.

other factors. The boiler pressure could
be reduced, and the cylinder increased in
diameter to obtain the same or greater
tractive effort, while there would be a
saving in coal and water consumption, and,
incidentally, in the upkeep of the boiler
and fire-box.

Accordingly numerous experiments were
carried out to devise an efficient means for
drying or " superheating "
the steam. Remarkable in-
genuity has been displayed in
the evolution of the most suitable apparatus
to accomplish this end. The steam, as it
issues from the boiler, is passed through
an additional nest of tubes upon which the
gases of combustion from the fire play before
escaping into the air. The result is that
the temperature of the steam is raised
to as much as 600 degrees or more, and
every trace of saturation is eliminated.

The practice came into vogue first upon
the Continent, where to-day over 10,000
locomotives work with superheater. Some
countries were somewhat slow in adopting
the idea, not from motives of scepticism,
but because the comparative experiments
with locomotives working under saturated
and superheated steam respectively were of
an elaborate and comprehensive character,
in order to obtain conclusive data con-
cerning the advantages of the new practice.
The results of these experiments proved
somewhat startling. Reduced boiler pres-
sures and increased cylinder diameter were
rendered feasible without impairing the
capacity of the locomotive. The saving
in coal per ton-mile and per train-mile
ranged from 20 per cent, upwards. In
other words, the fuel bill was capable of
reduction by just so much by using super-
heated steam. Moreover, it was found that
the superheated steam locomotives of a
certain class were able to develop more
tractive effort and to haul heavier loads
at the same or higher speeds than sister
engines running on saturated steam. The
economy in water consumption was equally

marked, while the repairs and maintenance
charges were pulled down very appreciably.
The possibility of hauling more tons per
mile at less expense was too valuable to
be ignored in these days when running
expenses are mounting ever upwards.
Moreover, the efficiency of the machine
was improved considerably. Locomotives •
were able to be put to heavier and faster
work than that for which they had been •
primarily designed.

The superheater tubes of " The Great
Bear " have a heating surface of 545 square
feet. The area of the fire
grate is 41-79 square feet.
The coupled driving wheels
are 80 \ inches in diameter ; the leading
bogie wheels 38 inches and the trailing
wheels 44 inches in diameter respectively. '
The tractive effort is 29,430 pounds ; that
is to say, if a chain were passed from the
draw-bar of the engine over a pulley, and
attached to a weight equivalent to the above I
tractive effort, the engine would be abla
to keep it suspended in the air when the
full pressure of steam were applied. The
tender carries 3,500 gallons of water, and
its total over-all length is 71 feet 2f inches, '
while in running order it weighs 94 tons, i
This engine is used in the fastest long-
distance express traffic on the system,
especially on the through working of the
summer London-Penzance trains, where
high average speeds with heavy loads have
to be handled over the heavy grades of
South Devon and Cornwall.

A heavy locomotive, the ten-wheeler, or
4-6-0 type, has been introduced upon the
London and North Western

Railway for working the The "sir

... ..T. ., . Gilbert

northern mam lines with their ciaughton."

heavy grades, particularly
between Crewe and Carlisle, where Shap
Fell has to be overcome. This is the " Sir
Gilbert Ciaughton " class. They have been
designed by Mr. C. J. Bowen Cooke, the
locomotive engineer-in-chief to the system,
and represent a notable departure in the

LOCOMOTIVE GIANTS

219

locomotive practice of this railway. This show at the Ghent International Exhibition
engineer has been responsible for some of 1913. This likewise is a ten-wheeler,
excellent Pacific (4-6-2) tank engines, but 4-6-0, with inside cylinders,

in elaborating this new design the trailing Belpaire fire-box, and Robinson The "Sir

Sam Fay."
superheater. The cylinders

are 21 £ inches in diameter by 26
inches stroke. The boiler barrel is
17 feet 3 inches in length by 5 feet

pair of wheels, usually placed beneath the
fire-box, was abandoned.

This engine possesses many interesting
features. Although there are four cylinders

surface is 2,816-88 square feet, made
up as follows : tubes, 2,219-88 square

of 18 inches diameter, by 26 inches stroke, 6 inches in diameter. The total heating

simple, and not compound, working, in

accordance with the general trend in

recent locomotive practice, is adopted, feet ; fire-box, 167 square feet ; super-

Thc cylinders are placed in line with the heater, 430 square feet. The grate area

piston valves above, and all drive on the

leading coupled axle. The Walschacrt

valve gear has been embraced for the first

is 26 square feet.

The coupled driving wheels are of 81
inches and the bogie wheels of 42 inches

time upon the London and North Western diameter respectively. In working order
system, while the fire-box of the Belpaire the weight of the engine and tender is 122

pattern has been adopted, together with
the Schmidt superheater.

The boiler is 14 feet 6 inches in length,

tons. This large and powerful locomotive
has been designed especially for handling
the heaviest express trains over the severe

by 5 feet 2 inches in diameter, the centre gradients of the Great Central Railway

line being 8 feet 9 inches above the rail
level. The fire-box is 9 feet 6 inches in

in the Midlands. Its neat symmetrical
appearance contrasts vividly with the

length, by 4 feet 1 inch in width outside, gaunt skeleton-like engines peculiar to

and has a grate area of 30'5 square feet, America.

Thus it will be seen that, although British
railways have not gone to the limits of the
mammoth locomotive adopted in

exceeding that of any preceding London
and North Western engine. The total
heating surface is 2,332 square feet, of
which the tubes, If inches in diameter,

Continental Europe and the New

British
Develop-

represent 1,160-9 square feet, the fire-box World, a steady forward move- ments.

171-2 square feet, and the superheater
complete 899'9 square feet.

ment is being maintained upon

gradual lines. Undoubtedly during the

The wheels of the bogie truck have a next few years this tendency will become
diameter of 39 inches, while the drivers more marked, seeing that British rolling
are of 81 inches diameter. The tender stock is growing heavier, while longer
carries 6 tons of coal and 3,000 gallons of trains are being brought into vogue,
water. The over-all length of the engine This development applies not only to
is 63 feet 4f inches, while the total weight
is 116 tons, of which 57 tons are available
for adhesion.

At the present moment the heaviest

long-distance express passenger movement,
but also to the handling of the goods
traffic, owing to the growing appre-
ciation of the high-capacity goods' wagon.

locomotive working upon British railways A few years ago the 8- and 10-ton truck
is the new express class which has been reigned supreme, but the 15- and 20-ton
designed by Mr. J. G. Robinson for the vehicles are being adopted more exten-
Great Central Railway, the first" of the six sively, especially for long distance hauls
of which, the " Sir Sam Fay," was placed on and for the transportation of minerals.

A RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION CAMP ON THE BORDERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE.

The Mastery of the Glaciers

A FIGHT WITH NATURE IN THE WILDS OF ALASKA

HEN, in 1867, the United States
handed over gold to the tune
of £1,440,000 to Russia, in
return for the half-million odd
square miles of towering moun-
tains and yawning valleys
known as Alaska, there were
plenty of critics who croaked that the
bargain was a good one for Russia,
but a bad one for " Uncle Sam." To-day
it would be impossible to find an American
who is not wildly enthusiastic over the
future of that far northern country. Dur-
ing the forty-five years the land has been
under the Stars and Stripes, although it
has been practically a closed book, over
£70,000,000 have been taken out of it in
the form of furs, fish, and minerals, in point
of value. The latter easily stands first,

having yielded over £32,000,000, mostly
in gold, and gathered by the crudest of
processes.

Alaska is an enormous treasure-ground,
but no idea of its riches was gained until
the Klondike was over-run with gold-
seekers. Hardy, long-headed prospectors
maintained that the mineral finds in the
Yukon Territory must continue through
the adjacent country to the west, and
promptly they started off to scratch the
mountain sides and to sift the beds of the
rivers and streams. Their perseverance
and temerity were rewarded. They re-
turned to civilisation with wonderful stories
about the latest Eldorado, and clinched
their pictures with convincing specimens
of coal, copper, and gold, which were in
abundance. There was only one difficulty :

THE MASTERY OF THE GLACIERS

221

occasion to repent of their assumed superior
knowledge.

It was no easy going over the Valdez
Glacier. The river of ice is torn and riven
by rifts and chasms in all directions, and
the trail wound in and out among these

death-traps in the most bewildering manner.

the riches were hoarded up in the interior,
to penetrate which demanded untiring
patience, grim determination, and hard
toiling over the mountainous fence running
along the coast-line.

The circulation of the stories concerning
these " strikes " precipitated a northward
rush from the United States.
Although only a year previously
the momentous stampede to
the Klondike had been made,
with its harrowing and dismal
round of hardship, peril, priva-
tion, and disaster in the struggle
over the Chilkoot Pass, the
Alaskan pioneers were not to
be turned from their purpose.
They were eager to get rich,
and quickly, too. During the
months of February, March and
April, 1898, it is stated that
3,000 men landed at the
obscure port of Valdez, bound
for the interior. It was a
terrible heart- and back-break-
ing journey over the ever-
upward zig-zagging trail across
the ice of the Valdez Glacier to
an altitude of 4,800 feet. Many
of these gold-fever-stricken fools
never had seen a glacier in

their life until they caught sight of those Time after time a meandering tramp of
of Alaska, which are the largest known to three or four miles was required to make

ROUTE MAP OF THE COPPER RIVER AND NORTH
WESTERN RAILWAY.

an advance of one mile. The unusual
spectacle was to be seen of villages of tents

civilisation, and then they were staggered,
But they were so intoxicated with buoy-

ant enthusiasm that they never paused to pitched at intervals on the glacier where

reflect upon the prospect. They had sleds 300 or more men were in evidence. The

on which they stowed their outfits, and seething mass of impatient humanity made

which they considered adequate to over- the distance between two camps a daily

come the obstacle. When the " old boys," instalment of the journey.

The blinding snowstorms, gales and

already in occupation, told the " tender-
feet " that they must carry ropes, firewood
or oil-stoves, and other necessaries with
which to cook their food and to obtain
their water by melting the snow or ice

blinding snowstorms, gales
raw fogs contributed to the miseries and
difficulties of those on the mush. A
blizzard lasting 120 hours on end is by no
means uncommon in these latitudes, while

when camped on the glacier, the new the frequent avalanches, rattling down
arrivals laughed derisively. But those who the slopes, mixed tents, men, horses, and
disregarded the timely advice soon had outfits in a wild melee. Movement during

222

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

the brilliant illumination of the day was
impossible, since the snow was then softest
and most treacherous and the agony of
snow-blindness was encountered. Accord-
ingly, the gold-seekers surged forward
during the night under the soft gleam of
the Northern Lights, when the thermometer
dropped to its lowest daily reading.

Yet all this wearing of sinew and muscle
was in vain. The pluck and endurance
of the prospectors were mas-

tered by the §lacier ; cheap

transport was impossible.
Castles in the air were shattered, and the
greater number of the men trekked pain-
fully and wearily back to Valdez. Those
who could afford it paid for steamship
berths back to Seattle ; others less fortunate
either stole or worked their passage south-
wards. A few of the hopelessly stranded
lingered behind to found the town of
Copper Centre, only to be ravaged by an
outbreak of scurvy which decimated their
ranks.

A few of the hardy spirits who escaped

the attacks of disease tried their luck once

more after the winter had

Discovery passec} ancj to their dauntless
of Copper.

courage the awakening of

Alaska really is due. A copper belt was
found along the Chitina River, and the
richness of the ore was so tempting that
at last the interest of financiers became
awakened. A small group was formed to
work these resources, and thus the opening
up of Alaska began in true earnest, as the
provision of facilities to gain the mineral
district was the first consideration.

An organisation, the Katalla Construc-
tion Company, was formed by the alliance
of Messrs. J. P. Morgan and the Guggen-
heims, who control the smelting industry of
the United States, to complete a railway into
the interior and to found a port upon the
coast. It was recognised that the forging
of the essential communicating link would
bristle with searching difficulties and would
cost an enormous amount of money, inas-

much as the Chitina River district lies on.
the east side of the towering mountain
range which runs parallel to and hugs
the coastline. Moreover, owing to the
numerous spurs running from this great
backbone to the water's edge, where they
break off in precipitous cliffs, the natural
facilities for handling vessels, in relationship
to the route of the line into the interior,
are very few and far between. There was
only one point where the Saint Elias
and Chugach Mountains could be pierced
economically : that was the gorge through
which the tumultuous Copper River hurries
and scurries to the sea. It is not a river ;
it is merely a headlong rush of water,
foaming through canyons, and wandering
aimlessly over low-lying nooks in the
mountains.

The selection of the tide-water terminus
was the first question, and the syndicate
experienced a lively hunt and
dismaying rebuffs in this con- Selection
nection, because the discovery Terminus,
of a suitable harbour proved as
elusive as the will-o'-the-wisp. As Valdez
had come into such prominence with the
gold rush of '98, the engineers thought it
would be an ideal situation for their pur-
pose. A large sum of money was expended
in improving the port, when suddenly it
was announced that the grade from that
point through the mountains would be
too heavy. Accordingly Valdez was aban-
doned. Then it was decided to secure a
point at the mouth of the Copper River
itself, and as Katalla, on the south side
of the estuary, offered every inducement,
harbour-building operations were com-
menced there. A breakwater was thrown
out to enclose a large area of water in
which ships might unload and load. When
£200,000 had been expended it was found
impossible to secure a sufficient depth of
water, while complete protection could not
be secured against the heavy storms ex-
perienced along this coast-line. Indeed,
one tempest played sad havoc with the

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224

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

works already completed, and in face of
the unequal odds Katalla shared the same
fate as Valdez.

A third decision brought the terminal
on the northern side of the Copper River
estuary, and here the American interests
received a startling check, which at the

ostentatiously they ran up and down the
Copper and Chitina Rivers, and discovered
not only the easiest and cheapest, but also
the only practical, location for a railway,
as well as an ideal terminus on the sea-
board with plenty of deep water, at Eyak
Village, near Cordova. The Katalla Con-

THE ROAD THROUGH THE DISMAL TUNDRA OR MUSKEG.

time appeared to be more insuperable than
the hostility of Nature. While the Katalla
Construction Company's engineers had been
scouring the coastline, and probing the
mountains for the easiest route for a rail-
way, British enterprise had won. A rail-
way builder, Mr. W. J. Honey, and Mr.
E. C. Hawkins, an experienced engineer,
with British financial backing, had carried
through the White Pass Railway in the
face of tremendous odds, and had learned
from bitter experience just what railway
construction through such heavy country
entailed. When the line to the Klondike
was completed, the builder and the engineer,
supported by the same financial interests,
having heard of the Morgan-Guggenheim
intentions in Alaska, quietly moved north-
wards to achieve another conquest. Un-

struction Company finally seized Cordova
for their terminus, and it proved suitable;
but when they endeavoured to run up
the Copper River they found themselves
balked by the rival British interests.

When the Americans realised the situa-
tion seven miles of line were built, and
there was every indication that toil would
not cease until the Bonanza Mine was
gained. The British owners were prompted
to push ahead with their work, because
they knew only too well that if the Ameri-
can syndicate were determined to own
their own railway to the mines — well, they
would have to buy out those already in
possession. It seemed as if the Americans
were doomed to be outwitted by British
shrewdness and enterprise, as they had been
in connection with the White Pass Railway.

THE MASTERY OF THE GLACIERS

225

A fight was impossible, as the rival was
entrenched too firmly^ The Morgan-Gug-
genheim combine accepted the inevitable

far as Kennecott, where the Bonanza Mine
is situated.

This railway runs through some of the

and offered to buy out the British interests, wildest, most repelling country it is possible
A deal was effected, the latter securing a to imagine. Forbidding canyons, through

BUILDING THE GREAT STEEL BRIDGE ACROSS THE COPPER RIVER.

One of the most expensive bridges in America. In the photograph water is seen flowing over the

ice of the frozen river after a sudden thaw.

tangible hold in the American undertaking.
Mr. Hawkins was made vice-president of
the Katalla Company, while a new sub-
sidiary concern, the Copper River and
North Western Railway, was created, with
Mr. Hawkins as general manager and chief
engineer, while Mr. Honey was given the
contract to build the line.

The railway is of standard gauge, and
after it rounds the tongue of land forming
the northern shore to the Copper River
estuary, picks up the river proper at Flag
Point, the waterway being hugged for
104J miles to Chitina. Then it swings to
the east, to follow the Chitina River as
29

which the water thunders savagely, stretches
of swamp, toc.s of glaciers, water-logged
alluvium, and mountain shoulders were
encountered in turn. At places the fight
put up by Nature was of the sternest
character, and the engineers were not able
to get through with their narrow shelf on
which the metals are laid for less than
£50,000 per mile. Money had to be poured
out at the rate of £15,000 per mile for
25 miles, while another section averaged
£20,000 per mile. Thousands of pounds
literally vanished in smoke, because hun-
dreds of tons of giant powder went up to
blast the narrow causeway through the

226

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The Question
of Curves.

hard rock of the mountain humps. Indi-
vidual blasts of 15 and 20 tons of explosive
were quite common, and when work was
in full swing at the point where the going
was hardest and heaviest, an army of 1,500
men found employment, driving their way
relentlessly forward yard by yard.

In plotting the line, it was decided to
keep the gradients down as far as possible.

This was a laudable pro-
j b t difficu]t to fulfil in

a land where the forces of
Nature have carried out their work in a
mad, haphazard manner. It required
money : if this were forthcoming the
engineer could be trusted to achieve the
desired end. But the question of curva-
ture was not solved so easily. The river
twists and turns amazingly, and as the
route had to follow the waterway, the
engineer was not given much scope to
straighten out these sharp bends unless
he embarked upon a wholesale mountain-
moving campaign.

The labour question was perplexing.
Men accustomed to heavy mountain-rail-
way building were difficult to
obtain. Down in the West-
ern States railway expansion
was exceedingly active, and the demand
for workmen was so keen and well paid
that labour was not compelled to go
northwards to suffer virtual imprisonment,
the Arctic blasts, low temperature, and
other perils for a few dollars per day. The
contractor, as he was working upon a
time-limit, at one time required 4,000 men.
His appeal was answered by a handful of
scores ! The rigours of the climate played
sad havoc with all but the most hardened
and experienced toilers. Many men, after
a brief experience, had to abandon their
task and return to more congenial cjimes.
The southern European races, although for
the most part excellent navvies, could not
tolerate a country where the rainfall
averages 120 inches per annum, where the
thermometer sinks to 60° below zero in

Labour
Difficulties.

winter, where the snowstorms rage for days
without ceasing, and where the wind rushes
with such velocity as to beat through the
thickest clothing as if it were only muslin.
Scandinavians were the men most natur-
ally fitted to the task ; they are acclima-
tised to this latitude, and are born workers
in rock.

The " muskeg," or bog-land, was exasper-
ating. In winter, under the wand of King
Frost, it becomes as solid as a

rock to a depth of some 20 feet ; The

"Muskeg"
in summer, owing to the power prot,iem.

of the sun, it is transformed
into a half-set jelly, which, although it will
support the weight of a man, sucks down
anything heavier. Huge piles were driven
into this plastic mass, and the spaces be-
tween the legs, which were held together
with cross-pieces, were loaded with stone
blasted out of the rock cuttings. Fortun-
ately, in Alaska this tundra is not able
to thaw out entirely : the heat of the sun
cannot penetrate to a depth of more than
10 feet or so. The result is that the
bottom of the bog is eternally frozen, so
that the piles when driven downwards to a
foot or so below the frost mark secured a
firm hold.

While the Alaskan summer is delight-
ful, with the temperature hovering about
94° in the shade and the sun
shining for nearly twenty out of The
the twenty-four hours, it brings

its own peculiar discomforts.
The flies are an implacable enemy. The
muskeg forms an ideal breeding ground
for mosquitoes, while the little black
fly and the caribou-bug are equally
vicious. They can only be kept at a
distance by " smudges " — smouldering fires
of damp leaves emitting dense clouds of
smoke — but these are impracticable when
navvying. A pungent, oleaginous dress-
ing — " fly dope "—applied to the face and
hands secures respite from their attacks
until the odour has evaporated, but this
is an indifferent makeshift. The toilers

THE MASTERY OF THE GLACIERS

227

only secured relief by encasing their heads
in finely meshed muslin nets, resembling
flexible meat-safes, while their hands were
encased in large gauntlets. At night they
were compelled to sleep in mosquito-proof
nets.

The summer brought added perils in the
form of snow, rock, and land slides. The

fierce heat of the sun melts
Land Slides, the heavy blankets of snow

that clothe the mountain tops,
causing large masses to slip. Once set in
motion, they never stop until they reach
the depths of the gorges below. The rock
and land slides were equally fearsome.
With a rattle and a roar, as if a gigantic
artillery duel were in progress, huge boul-
ders, hillocks of loose debris, trees, and
what not come careering down the slopes
with terrific fury, setting up tornado-like
winds in their train and spreading destruc-
tion on every hand. The heavy melting
of the snows also contributed to the tur-
bulence of the rivers and creeks, the waters
of which rose and fell several feet within
a few hours. When the Copper River is
swelled by these enormous additions of
water, it rushes along with the fury of a
mill-race, bearing the gaunt stumps of
towering trees on its bosom, and carrying
away the soft, friable parts of the banks
with the greatest ease, only to pile all in
unsightly humps, ridges, and banks at the
delta, where the river straggles over a
wide area. The engineers, therefore, were
compelled to lay their pathway well above
the fiercely scouring force of the river,
otherwise its life would have been brief.

While the path of the railway for the most
part lies along a shelf hewn and torn out
of the mountain flanks, which tumble into
the river almost with the steepness of a
plumb-line, its advance was disputed by
another formidable natural obstacle —
glaciers. From the banks of the Copper
River may be seen some of the largest
and most magnificent active ice rivers in
the world. Two of these — Miles and

Childs Glaciers — come to the water's edge
at a point 40 miles distant from Cordova,
and are wonderfully picturesque and im-
pressive. Childs Glacier in particular is
enthralling. It rises from the water in a
solid scintillating cliff to a height of 300 to
500 feet, while from one end to the other
of its prismatic face is a distance of three
miles. Throughout the livelong day dur-
ing the •summer the " calving " of icebergs
is in progress, and the spectacle is wonder-
ful, as the large detached masses tumble
into the water with a roar, sending immense
waves rolling across the river and huge
columns of spray into the air. To avoid
this obstacle the railway swings across the
river over a huge bridge.

At one point an unprecedented piece
of railway engineering has been con-
summated. The line runs

along a shelf which has been A Railway

on a Glacier.

cut out of the dead end of

the stagnant Allen Glacier, where the
metals are laid upon the ice for a distance
of five miles. At first sight the situation
does not present many of the attributes
of a river of ice, inasmuch as the end of
the glacier is completely covered with
dense scrub and other debris. But when
the rock-hogs attacked the section they
blew out huge chunks of ice in their blasts
laying bare the toe of the glacier. The
ice river was plainly discernible alongside
the track for two years afterwards. Some-
day perhaps the Allen Glacier will sud-
denly return to life and push the railway
into the river,, Then the engineers will
have to throw another bridge across the
wide waterway to gain the opposite bank.
No apprehensions are entertained on this
score at present, however, as the ice river
has evidently been quiescent for many
score years past.

While winter brought a relief from the
assaults of the flies, and rendered movement
somewhat easier by snowshoe and sled
over the snow-carpeted ground and frozen
waterway, the workmen had to keep on

228

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

THE BIG STEEL BRIDGE OVER THE COPPER RIVER BETWEEN MILES AND CHILDS GLACIERS.
Childs Glacier, 300 feet in height, is seen in the background ; icebergs in the foreground.

the move and encase themselves in heavy
woollen clothing to keep the blood circu-
lating through their veins. When the tem-
perature hovers around 70° below, and the
Arctic wind is blowing keenly, the severity
of winter's rule is felt. The Copper River
valley is a funnel through the range, and
the wind, being forced into a narrow space,
tears along with fearful velocity. At times
the men could not keep their feet, and
swinging heavy hammers, guiding the
descent of massive pieces of metal for a
bridge, or putting the rails shipshape,
whilst endeavouring to maintain one's
balance, is somewhat precarious. Attempts
to ease this situation were made by erecting
timber screens to act as " breakers," but
the Arctic gale caught hold of these
defences and splintered them to match-
wood. Now and again a new fail of snow
would come sliding down the mountain
slopes, heading straight for the construc-
tional forces. There was a shrill cry and
a wild scamper to safety until the snow
had gone. Then the men returned, and
with their shovels diligently toiled to
extricate the railway and trucks.

While the location of the line through
the rugged narrow canyons, where the
engineer had to seize every available foot
of ground to receive the metals, was ex-
citing work, it is the bridges which catch
the eye, especially those over the Copper
and Kuskulana Rivers. Both are great
achievements, completed under the most
exciting conditions. But in addition there
are numerous other erections of this
character, wrought in concrete, steel and
timber, according to circumstances, with
here and there a fine example of wooden
trestling.

Bridge - building commenced ere the
engineers had got into their stride, and
had picked up the mouth of the river.
It is an ill-kempt estuary sprawling over
the whole width between the two lofty
banks, which fall back somewhat at this
point. The river, which in the course of
its mad rush to the sea collects vast
quantities of silt, is forced to disgorge its
ill-gotten gains at this point, and accordingly
throws it up in dreary banks and ridges,
intersected with numerous channels. These
flats are the home of millions of wild fowl

THE MASTERY OF THE GLACIERS

229

-of all descriptions, and as food is available
in plenty, they constitute ideal breeding
grounds, the low thick scrub providing
excellent protection. As the delta is prac-
tically a quagmire for the whole of its
width, a large bridge of nine spans, for
which over 4,000 tons of steel were required,
had to be built to carry the line from bank
to bank. At first, however, a timber
trestle was thrown across the gap to enable
the railway to be pushed forward, the
permanent steel bridge being built at
leisure.

When the engineers had penetrated
about 22 miles up the river, their advance
was disputed by the towering ice wall of
Miles Glacier on the left bank, while on
the right bank loomed Childs Glacier, the
bulb ends of these two mighty rivers of
ice being almost opposite. A swing across

the waterway was imperative. A point
about three miles below the glacier was
selected for the crossing, and as the river
here widens out to form a lake, it was seen
that a teasing and tedious piece of work
was unavoidable. As construction on the
opposite bank could not be held up until
the bridge was completed, a ferry service
was established on the waterway, whereby
materials and men were transferred from
bank to bank. By this arrangement the
engineers were given plenty of time to
reconnoitre the situation and to lay their
plans so as to secure complete success.

As the bridge runs parallel to the face
of the ice wall, and about three miles below
its foot, the engineers were confronted with
a somewhat perplexing problem. The
Alaskan glaciers are particularly active,
and an advance of 5 feet per day is by

NOT A CANAL, BUT THE RAILWAY FLOODED.

After the rotary snow-plough had passed a glacial stream broke through, and, filling the snow cutting,

rendered the line impassable.

23°

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Glacier
Observations.

no means abnormal. In these circum-
stances icebergs are calved by the hundred,
and while the river is open come sailing
down the waterway in a never-ending
procession. It is a majestic spectacle
for the visitor, but this phenomenon was
regarded with misgivings by the bridge-
builders. When an iceberg, weighing
several hundred tons, is swept along at a
speed of eight or ten miles per hour, woe
betide any object which it may chance
to strike. If this happened to be a bridge
pier, well, the handiwork of man would
offer a very insignificant resistance and
present a sorry sight after the collision.

One whole summer was devoted to
observing the " calving " and " flow " of
the bergs, the channels they
favoured, as well as their
varying velocity, size, and
behaviour when they were caught up by
the scurrying river. Some of the bergs
were observed to be of immense dimen-
sions, towering 20 feet and more out of
the water, and although their advance was
braked, owing to the lower extremities
dragging along the river bed, yet they
kept going at a steady seven miles an
hour. The disintegration of the glacier
and the run of the bergs continued inces-
santly from June 1st to November 1st,
when winter descended upon the scene.

The menaces only could be compassed
by building a huge bridge of a total length
of 1,550 feet, divided into four spans.
The problem was the disposition of the
piers, but the observations had revealed the
presence of two bars in the stream which
the bergs skirted, and very seldom fouled.
By seizing these sand-bars as the points
for the piers, the bridge was divided up
into spans of the following length — 450
feet, two of 400 feet, and 300 feet respec-
tively. It was decided that the span over
the main channel should be a cantilever,
the heavy spans on either side thereof
being the anchor arms. A " camel-back "
design was adopted for the spans, which,

"Ice-
Resisters."

owing to the bridge being placed athwart
the river, and thereby being exposed to
the full broadside pressure of the hurri-
cane winds, were designed to withstand
a pressure of 40 pounds per square foot
when loaded, and 60 pounds per square
foot unloaded.

By setting the piers on the sand-bars,
although the danger from bergs was
. avoided, another equally serious
peril was courted — packing of
the ice. In winter the river
freezes to a depth of 7 feet, and when
the thaw comes there is a wild melee.
The ice splinters in all directions, and the
floes, caught by the suddenly awakened
river, are tossed hither and thither and
hurried down stream. But their progress is
impeded by other floes which have not
started on their ride to the sea, and these
decline to be driven prematurely. Conse-
quently the skeltering ice behind piles upon
that in front, forming big jambs. As the
river thus becomes blocked, the level of
the water behind the pack rises, setting
up an enormous pressure. The packing
of the ice is accentuated by the existence
of any obstacle in the waterway, such as
one of these bridge piers would offer, and
it would be difficult to contrive a support
which would effectively resist being pushed
over bodily. To remove all possibility of
this calamity, " ice-resisters " were built
around the piers, and these, strengthened
by iron rails weighing 56 Ib. per yard,
which were used in constructional work,
offer a complete defence against the push
of the ice. Foiled, the broken ice grates
and grinds itself to pieces in impotent
rage against the defences, until finally
it is swung to one side and carried down
stream.

Work was commenced in the winter,
when the river, at its lowest, was rendered
quiescent by its icy armour. The men
toiled laboriously in a temperature 70°
below zero, bringing up the heavy caisson
machinery, facing the knife-edged Arctic

THE MASTERY OF THE GLACIERS

231

blasts, and struggling desperately against
blinding blizzards. Nearly five months
were occupied in this preliminary task, and
the sleds were kept going continuously.
Delays were frequent. Now and again
there would be a galling hold-up owing to
a snow slide hitting the railway and bury-

sixes and sevens. The weather, with its
characteristic eccentricity, broke, a warm
spell setting in at the very time when the
country should have been firmly gripped
by frost. The thaw was accompanied by
heavy, driving rain. The armour of the
river became submerged by some 2 feet

THE KUSKULANA BRIDGE
The river thunders through the gorge 175 feet below the line.

ing it to a depth of 30 feet or so, hinder-
ing the movement of the trains until the
obstruction was shovelled away.

Labour was crowded on during the reign
of the ice-king, but it was exasperatingly
slow cutting holes in the ice to permit
the heavy wooden piles that constituted
the falsework for the anchor spans to be
driven home. Saws were useless, with ice
7 feet thick, so steam jets were played
upon it, the pile slipping gradually down-
wards as the hole was melted.

When work was at its height, during the
•winter of 1910, operations were thrown all

with freezing slush, and this superimposed
weight caused the ice, as the thaw pro-
gressed, to sink to a lower level. Childs
Glacier awoke and burst irito unwonted
activity, by slipping forward at the rate of
some 10 feet per day.

This unexpected development precipi-
tated an alarming situation. By the con-
striction of the channel the water was
backed up, and the enormous pressure
thus exerted upon the under face of the
icy covering burst it in all directions.
The falsework, which happened to be in
the wav of the movement, suffered heavily,

232

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

the massive piles being forced out of posi-
tion and the cross-bracing torn from its
fastenings.

The thaw lasted about a fortnight, when
winter again settled down to its humdrum

condition ; but it broke up
A Fight with H th expected.

the Ice.

The bridge - builders were

caught at a disadvantage. The ice began
to heave under the swelling volume of
water beneath, and in so doing lifted the
falsework of the first two shore spans on
the south side of the river. As some of
the steel had been set, disaster seemed
imminent. The men stopped erecting and
concentrated their energies to alleviating
the ice pressure with steam jets and
chisels welded to the end of short lengths
of 1-inch piping. As the steam caused the
ice to release its hold upon the timber the
men plied their chisels for all they were
worth, clearing the hole so as to permit
the piles to sink back again into their beds.
Large gangs toiled laboriously night and
day in this unequal conflict, and at times
the situation became thrilling. There
would be a creak and groan ! The ice would
be seen to lift. The workmen hurriedly
dragged their tools to the spot and played
the screeching live steam upon the " heave,"
so as to bring the steelwork which had
been disturbed above back to its place.
Sometimes they were successful ; at others
they were not. In the latter event the
" bridge-flies " swarmed the superstructure
and corrected the movement by the aid of
jacks, wedges, and blocks resting beneath
the girders.

While this work was in full swing, and
the men were congratulating themselves
that they had frustrated the effect of the
ice, Miles Glacier started moving. The
advance of an ice ram over 50 miles long by
3 miles wide, and some 300 to 500 feet
high, into a neck of water, is bound to
precipitate some unexpected contretemps.
In this case it caused the water in the river
to burst through its icy bonds, the ice

being smashed into huge fragments, which
were caught up and hurled against the
falsework. The hammering was so heavy
that a part of the timbering was detached
and swung round, when it collapsed. The
men fought like demons day and night
incessantly throughout a solid week, and
just as they were commencing to gain the
upper hand, after a certain amount of
damage had been wrought, Childs Glacier
entered the combat and bombarded the
work with icebergs, which it threw off one
after the other with startling rapidity.
These monsters, becoming entangled with
the piled ice, imposed tremendous pressure
upon the bridge. The structure appeared
to be doomed : the workers were helpless,
and the engineers were prepared for a
gigantic smash, although they never ceased
their efforts to avoid catastrophe. Just
as suddenly the situation cleared : the
river opened up, and carried away the
pack-ice and bergs in a wild rush. The
bridge was saved. The damage wrought
was repaired quickly, and before the next
winter set in the structure was completed
after a round £100,000 had been spent.

The Kuskulana Bridge is of quite a dif-
ferent character. When the engineers swung
at right angles from the Cop-
per River to push westwards T'ie

ii ™ -i- TT 11 Kuskulana

along the Chitma River valley Bridge.

to gain Kennecott, their path
came to the brink of a deep ravine — a crack
in the earth's crust with precipitous rock
walls 175 feet deep and 190 feet wide,
through which tears the Kuskulana River.
After completing the surveys the engineer
decided to span the gap with a massive
deck truss-bridge, 525 feet long, divided
into three spans, the longest of which, of
225 feet, immediately over the gorge, was
to be erected on the cantilever principle.

The engineering party entrusted with
this task left Cordova on April 1st — an
auspicious date — 1910, intending to travel
by train to the railhead, which was rapidly
approaching the gorge. They carried all

THE MASTERY OF THE GLACIERS

233

their requirements, so that work could be
commenced the instant they arrived at
the site. But the train had gone only 22
miles when there was a breakdown. The
line was buried beneath a heavy snow-
slide. The rotary plough had been buck-
ing into the obstacle, but the revolving
scoop had struck something it was not
designed to handle and was thrown out of
action. The track was 2 feet under water,
a glacial stream having broken into the
canal-like cut made by the plough. This
had frozen almost solid, so that the train
was stalled hopelessly, even if the snow-
plough were repaired. Sooner than suffer
delay, the party tumbled out of the caboose,
donned their snow-shoes, loaded up their
small sleds, and toiled over the snow and
ice for a distance of nearly 80 miles. Hard
on their heels came a labouring gang of
fifteen men, who dragged their equipment
on sleds over the whole 100 miles of ardu-
ous, zig-zagging, back-breaking trail be-
tween Miles Glacier and the Kuskulana
Gorge. The constructional material itself
had been brought up previously by small
steamers, which at great risk penetrated
almost to the bridge site.

As the bridge was to be built simultane-
ously from both sides of the ravine, the
initial task was to establish
& m«ans of conveying the
material across the chasm.
For this purpose a cableway was erected.
A narrow suspension bridge also was
thrown across the gulch near the site to
enable the workmen to pass from side to
side.

The main span is supported at either end
upon a steel tower, for which deep pits had
to be sunk to receive the concrete founda-
tions. This was painfully tedious work.
The tundra was frozen as hard as the rock
near by. The warm sun playing upon the
muskeg thawed the surface to a depth of
6 inches or so. This was removed within
the area required, and a fresh frozen sur-
face exposed to the sun. When this had
30

thawed out it was excavated in turn,
and a further section allowed to melt, this
process being continued until rock was
reached. Progress was very slow, as three
days had to be allowed to permit the un-
covered frozen surface to thaw out to the
depth of the spit of a spade. When the
rock was reached, it was found to be split
in all directions by frost, and accordingly
the foundations had to be taken down 10
feet more than had been anticipated.

While this work was in progress the tim-
ber falsework for the shore spans was pushed
forward, and by the time the

winter came round everything How the

, , Steel-work

was ready for placing the steel was pixe(j.

in position. Two immense tra-
vellers were set up, as the central section
was to be built upon the over-hang prin-
ciple. As the railway had reached the
gorge by this t'me, the material was
brought to the brink, and the cable-way
was kept going hard, transporting 540 tons
of steel-work, while one traveller and four
steam engines for hoisting purposes were
swung across the ravine.

The arrangements for supplying and dis-
tributing the power to the various working
positions demanded consider-
able ingenuity. Owing to the "ow Steam

- was Supplied,

depth of the gorge, the water

for steam raising purposes could not be
drawn from the Kuskulana River, all sup-
plies in this connection being brought in
by train. The water was stored in a tank
which was fitted with steam pipes to pro-
tect it from frost. As the men on the
opposite side of the gorge required water
and compressed air, a water-pipe, flanked
on cither side by live steam pipes, thickly
and tightly bound in hay, was laid across
the footbridge from the main power station.
Although hay is an excellent insulator, it
scarcely suffices for a temperature ranging
at anything between 30° above and 60°
below zero, so that delays frequently
occurred from the water-pipe freezing.
The erection of the steel - work com-

234

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

menced on November 8th, 1910, by which
time the permanent constructional camp
had been moved from Miles Glacier to
Kuskulana upon the railhead reaching the
gorge. The anchor spans were completed
very quickly, when 50 tons of rails were
packed on the shore extremity of each
to act as counterweights during the build-
ing of the cantilever span. The heavy
travellers were moved outwards, and the
material was brought out to them over a
temporary track laid upon the lower deck
of the bridge. Once the engineers got well
started work went forward merrily. The
only serious handicap was the shortness of
the Alaskan winter day, there being only
about three hours between sunrise and
sunset in December. The travellers crept
towards one another through the air until
they met over the centre of the gorge.
Then the mass of steel was manipulated
so as to bring the ends in line and to admit
the insertion of the last panel to connect the
two arms. This delicate operation was suc-

cessfully consummated with the thermo-
meter registering 40° below zero, the tra-
vellers were dismounted, and on January
12th, 1911, the first train moved across
the structure. The Kuskulana Gorge was
bridged within nine months of the en-
gineers' arrival upon the spot, while the
525 feet length of steel forming the struc-
ture was set in position within two months
— a remarkable achievement under the
peculiar and arduous conditions prevailing.
While the Flag Point, Copper River,
and Kuskulana bridges constitute the out-
standing examples of this form of engineer-
ing upon the Copper River and North West-
ern Railway, there are 311 small timber
trestles. After the Kuskulana Gorge was
conquered, the railway advanced to Ken-
necott, the inland terminus, 195| miles
from Cordova, the metals being carried to
the doors of the Bonanza Copper Mine.
By the time the last rail of the Copper
River and North Western Railway had
been laid some £3,500,000 had been spent.

THE END OF THE TASK: LAYING THE METALS AT THE BONANZA COPPER MINE.

•**«•£

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/.> courtesy of Messrs. Siemens Brothers & Co., Ltd.

THE SIEMENS ELECTRIC RAILWAY AT THE BERLIN EXHIBITION. 1879.

Steam v. Electricity

THE INCEPTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE

T the present moment the most
absorbing problem in railway
operating circles is whether
the steam locomotive, which
has accomplished so much
during the past century, shall
be superseded by electricity.
During the past few years the question
has been debated very vigorously, and
already many remarkable developments
have been accomplished, while others of a
more daring character are in course of con-
summation or are under contemplation.

From the activity which is being mani-
fested at the moment, the average individual
might be disposed to think that the electric
railway is a new idea, or rather is a
twentieth century movement. This is far
from being the case. The propulsion of
vehicles by electric energy aroused atten-
tion shortly after George Stephenson had
demonstrated the possibilities of the steam
locomotive at Rainhill.

The fact that electricity was destined
to play an important part in railway
operation was shown conclusively for the
first time by a British experimenter, Robert
Davidson, of Aberdeen. In 1842 he built
an electric car which ran on the Edinburgh
and Glasgow Railway, now incorporated
with the North British Railway, which,
laden with passengers, attained a speed of
4 miles an hour. Davidson's idea, how-
ever, was premature. The electrical energy
was drawn from batteries, and at that
time such a system was hopeless. More-
over, commercial interests were riveted too
closely at the time upon the steam loco-
motive. Still, Davidson was the pioneer ;
he was the first to demonstrate what
could be done with electricity as a means
of moving wheeled vehicles along the
steel highway.

The subject of electric traction occupied
the minds of the savants in both hemi-
spheres for many years, but little was

235

A THRILLING EXPERIMENT : A NECK-AND-NECK RACE

In order to obtain comparative data concerning the two systems of operation the New York Central Railroad

away from its rival. The steam train is travelling

iy permission ?f the JSrilisIt Thomson-Houston Co.. Ltd.

BETWEEN ELECTRICALLY AND STEAM DRIVEN TRAINS.

carried out a series of runs with trains of identical weight. This photograph shows the electric train «

at 60 and the electric train at 61'6 miles per hour.

238

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

accomplished until Werner von Siemens,
the famous German electrical scientist,
devoted his energies towards the solution
of the problem. In 1870 a decided step
forward had been made by Gramme's

By courtesy of Messrs. Siemens Brothers &• Co., Ltd.

THE 3-HORSE-POWER ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE INVENTED BY
WERNER VON SIEMENS IN 1879.

invention of the ring armature ; thence
the dynamo underwent rapid develop-
ment.

Siemens' electric locomotive was un-
pretentious. It comprised a 3-horse-power
motor mounted on a truck with the drive
to the axle through spur gearing. At
the Berlin Exhibition in 1879, a short line,
about 600 yards in length, was laid down,
and along this road the locomotive hauled
three carriages, capable of carrying 30
passengers, at a speed of about 4 miles
per hour. The current was drawn from
a third rail laid between the track rails,
and the latter acted as the return to the
dynamo. This primitive electric railway
proved a strong draw among the visitors
to the Exhibition, while it created intense
interest among scientists and engineers.

This Siemens electric railway, although
regarded as little else than a " side show,"
virtually inaugurated the electric railway
era. For the first time it was recognised

that a possible rival to the steam locomotive
had arrived. Edison was attracted to the
problem, and he laid down a short length
of experimental track near his laboratory
at Menlo Park. His engine likewise was
very primitive, comprising
a flat truck on which the
dynamo was installed.

In co - operation with
Henry Villard, who was
President of the Northern
Pacific Railroad, another
line 2j miles long was
built at Menlo Park. Edison
designed a new electric loco-
motive of standard gauge
capable of hauling three
vehicles. As narrated else-
where, Villard, from the
moment when he first saw
the Edison electric loco-
motive, was convinced that
this system was destined
to play an important part
in the economics of rail-
way operation, and he supported Edison
whole-heartedly.

Before Edison had completed his second
experimental railway, electric traction had
entered upon the commercial phase in
Great Britain. On August 26th, 1880, a
company was incorporated to construct a
railway 6 miles long from Portrush, in
County Antrim, to Bushmills, to be worked
by electric power. Simultaneously Mr.
Magnus Volk received permission to lay a
narrow gauge railway along the beach at
Brighton. This was opened for traffic on
August 2nd, 1883, shortly after the Irish
line, and it is historically interesting as
being the first English electric railway.

Once the possibilities of electric traction
became appreciated — in which development
the Old World led the way — curiously
enough, the idea of adapting it to street
tramways became the first and foremost
consideration. Its application to the rail-
way languished considerably for many

STEAM v. ELECTRICITY

239

years, but the dawn
of the twentieth cen-
tury revived the idea,
especially in those
countries deficient in
fuel resources, but
possessed of incal-
culable sources of
energy in the form
of waterfalls, such as
Sweden, Switzerland,
and Italy. Millions
of horse-power were
running to waste.

Therefore it was
only natural that such

countries should attempt to elaborate
schemes for the harnessing of this water-
power, and its transmission over vast
distances to points where it could be
used. But the conditions of railway service
differed very materially from those in-
cidental to street tramways. There were
many peculiar problems inherent to the
former which did not arise in the latter
development. Accordingly, it became
necessary to embark upon elaborate and
costly experiments for the purpose of
determining the means of meeting the
situation most effectively and economically.
Unless a decided advance could be made

THE CONTROLLER OF EDISON'S FIRST ELECTRIC LOCQMOTIVE.

THE GEAR OF EDISON'S FIRST ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE.

upon steam locomotive practice from every
point of view, then electrical operation
would be difficult to bring about. The
railway managing element is notoriously
conservative, and argues with no other
weapon beyond pounds, shillings, and
pence.

The most striking tests carried out in
this connection were those made by the
New York Central Railroad in conjunction
with the General Electric Company of
Schcnectady. This railway was the only
one at that time which ran direct into
New York City, but the terminal had to
be approached through a bottle-neck of
tunnels. These, becom-
ing choked with the
steam and smoke from
the steam locomotives,
rendered movement some-
what dangerous, because
the drivers experienced
__ great difficulty in picking

up and reading their
signals. These conditions
ultimately precipitated a
terrible accident, after
which the company
determined to electrify
the whole of its entrance
into the city without any
further delay.

240

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

This initial step, however, was one of

considerable magnitude. It comprised the

electrification of the main line

Experimental f distance of 34 miles from
Steps.

the terminus, together with

24 miles on another — the Haarlem — division.
The two sections, however, represented two
totally different services, the first-named
being express, and the latter local traffic.
This meant that the electric locomotives
would be called upon to haul the trains a
matter of 34 miles, and they would have
to be equal at least in speed and other
essentials to the steam locomotives.
The decision to move the heaviest ex-
press trains by electricity was something
entirely new ; the authorities had no pre-
cedents to assist them. They had to find
out everything for themselves. Under these
circumstances they decided to carry out
comprehensive and conclusive investiga-
tions. For this purpose six miles of a
fourth set of metals near Schenectady, over
which the steam trains ran, was electrified
to serve as an experimental track. The
stretch of selected line was practically
straight, the curvature being extremely
easy. The gradient was slightly adverse
to westward movement, rising from 5 to
17 feet per mile from the eastern end of
the section to a point between the fourth
and fifth miles, whence it dropped at 6 to
19 feet per mile to the sixth mile. The
track was overhauled and well ballasted,
so as to permit of speeds up to 70 and 80
miles per hour. A third, or conductor,
rail was laid down, and alternating current
was transmitted from the generator at
11,000 volts to a sub-station placed at a
half-way point, where it was stepped
down (and converted) to 600 volts direct
current, at which pressure it was delivered
to the third rail.

The locomotive used for the test was to
be capable of pulling a load of 875 tons — the
maximum weight of an express train — at
speeds ranging up to 65 miles per hour.
The conditions were somewhat exacting.

Seeing that the weights of the express train
vary, and that some fifty locomotives of on
type were to be supplied for the service, it wa
decided to adopt the multiple unit system c
control. This arrangement gave extrem
flexibility. By this means two locomotive
can be coupled together and operated fror
the leading engine as a single unit. Sue'
a " double-header " would suffice for th
heaviest trains, while for trains up to 45'
tons a single engine would be ample.

The locomotive was of the 2-8-2 type
there being a leading and trailing bogi
and four pairs of coupled

drivers. Each axle was fitted The Ele(:tri

Locomotive.

with a motor having a normal

rating of 550 horse-power, representiiij
an aggregate of 2,200 horse-power, thougl
at starting the engine was capable o
exerting 3,000 horse-power. The control
ling apparatus was in duplicate on eithe
side of the cab, and was so arranged as t
conform as closely as possible with th
position of the driving control in the stean
locomotive.

Hour after hour, for day after day
through three months this locomotive wa
run up and down the experimental track
hauling loads of varying weights. Minut
records were kept of every run, so as ti
afford complete information upon an1
possible issue which might be raised b1
the railway authorities.

The supreme test was made on Apri
29th, 1905, when it was decided to obtaii
comparative data of electric and

steam haulage. The electric loco- Tne

.. ... , , Opponent

motive was pitted against one of compared

the latest and most powerful
steam locomotives engaged in the expres
service, the two being run side by side
The steam monster was of the Pacific type
with cylinders 22 inches in diamete
by 26 inches stroke, having 3,757 squan
feet of heating surface, measuring 67 fee
7 1 inches over all, and weighing, complcti
with tender, 171 tons, of which 23 1 ton:
were concentrated on each driving axle

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242

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The electric locomotive measured 36 feet
ll£ inches over all, and weighed 100J tons,
with 17f tons concentrated on each of the
four driving axles. Thus the electric loco-
motive was 30 feet 8j inches shorter and
weighed 70f tons less than its steam rival,
while the difference in axle weight was 5f
tons in its favour.

The first run was made with a train-
load of eight coaches. The total load of
the steam train, including the engine, was
513 tons. Owing to the lesser weight of the
electric locomotive, the latter's train was
loaded up with 70f tons so as to bring
its weight approximately to that of its rival.

The two were lined up side by side, the
electric on its own road, and the steam

train on the west - bound
First Point to express track Both trains
Electricity.

started together, but the

steam engine got away quicker. This was due
to an abnormal drop in the voltage of the
current, which fell to as low as 375, instead
of 600 volts. The result was that up to
3,000 feet from the starting point the
steam train was gathering speed faster
than its rival, but at this distance the
pace of the electric train attained that of
the steam locomotive. From this point
the electric train accelerated more rapidly.
It crept up, drew level with the steam
train, and forged ahead at the second mile-
post. The driver of the steam locomotive
let his engine go for all it was worth, and
notched a maximum speed of 50 miles an
hour, but he could not overhaul his com-
petitor, which, travelling at a maximum
speed of 57 miles an hour, drew farther and
farther away, until when the power was
shut off it was leading by two train lengths
— practically 1,000 feet.

Another run was made under similar
conditions, and the results were virtually

the same. The electric train,
Second Point though siower in acceleration,
Gained.

owing to the drop in the

voltage, caught the steam train and drew
clear before the current was shut off. On

this test higher speeds were attained b;
both trains, the steam locomotive reaching
53'6 miles, wThile the electric train toppei
60 miles, per hour.

For the third run the trains were reduce)
to six coaches, bringing the weight of th
steam train down to 427 tons,

and that of the electric train ™e Th'r

Triumph.

to 407 1 tons. Here again the
steam train got away more quickly, bu
in this case the voltage dropped as low a
330 volts. The result was that during th
first half-mile the steam train held the uppe
hand in acceleration. Once it got into it
stride, however, the electric train com
menced to make up leeway, and at th
end of the first mile drew ahead, and
racing at 61-6 miles per hour, continuec
to gain until the power was shut off.

Another run with these trains was com
pleted, only in this instance, in order t<
secure still closer relative results, and t<
bring the electric train more analogou
with the conditions which would prevai
in the electrified zone around New York
the start was made from the second mile
post. By this means a higher voltage wa
obtained, owing to the start being madi
nearer the sub-station. The two train
started level, but owing to the higher voltag<
the electric train commenced to accelerati
from the first revolution of its drivers, s<
that it led from the start, and after covering
1,500 feet was a full train length ahead.

These tests were followed with intensi
interest by the officials for whose benefi
they were conducted. Two heavy train
drawn by powerful monsters racing neck
and-neck over a short length of railway
afforded a novel and thrilling spectacle
Each type of locomotive represented th<
latest development in its particular field
and was the most powerful and fleetest of it:
class. The driver of the steam locomotive
being unfettered and keen upon demonstrat
ing the pace of his engine, entered int<
the race with the utmost zest, and it wa:
admitted that the steam locomotive, unde:

STEAM v. ELECTRICITY

243

it ; skilled crew, gave an excellent account
of itself.

Upon the conclusion of the foregoing
tests two runs were made by the electric
locomotive in order to ascertain its speed
powers. In the first sprint only one coach
was attached, with which a maximum
speed of 79 miles per hour was registered.
In the next effort the ocomotivc was run
light, and with the current shut off on
curves. Despite the latter handicap the
locomotive recorded 80-2 raises per hour.
This run was decidedly impvessi/^, and
had it not been for the restriction on the
curves, it :G believed that 90 miles an
hour would have been put up. As it
was, the above performance was excelled
two days later, when the engine in a speed
burst attained a velocity of 85 miles per
hour, with speed reduced to 78 miles per
hour when rounding the sharpest curve.

These tests emphasised the overwhelming

superiority of the electric locomotive.
Whereas the steam train starting from
rest required 203 seconds to accelerate to
a speed of 50 miles an hour, its electric
rival notched the same speed in 127
seconds. Then, again, the paying load
behind the electric locomotive was 76
tons greater than that behind the steam
locomotive, all other things being equal.

The officials of the New York Central
Railroad were convinced of the possibilities
of this form of traction upon the electrified
sections of their system, and they enter-
tained no apprehensions concerning the
wisdom of their policy.

Subsequent experience has fulfilled their
anticipations completely ; their enterprise
reaped its due reward. To-day the electrical
working of main line express traffic is not
regarded with any apprehensions. The
heavy initial outlay that has to be incurred
is the sole hindrance to the transformation.

Photograph t>y ftrnnsttcn of the British Thomson-Houston Co., Ltd.

THE ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE AFTER ITS CONTEST WITH THE SNOWDRIFTS.

THE " FAIRLIE " LOCOMOTIVE USED ON THE BOLIVIAN NARROW GAUGE RAILWAYS.

The "Fairlie" Double-ended
Locomotive

A DESIGN OF ENGINE EVOLVED TO OPERATE ON SHARP CURVES AND

STIFF GRADIENTS

ROM time to time ingenious
efforts have been made to
depart from what may be
described as the orthodox in
locomotive design. Such in-
genuity has been prompted by
the desire to obtain an engine
which will meet peculiar prevailing con-
ditions more efficiently than the familiar
type of locomotive.

This quest is by no means of recent
date. The necessity of some such develop-
ment was realised in the days when rail-
ways were young. The engineers of motive
power found it difficult to secure economical
working upon the roads with their sharp
curves and heavy banks laid by the early
railway builders. The fact that the cheapest
and easiest extrication from the quandary

was to rebuild the lines was not recognisec
at that time ; or, if it was, the treasurie:
were not sufficiently rich to sanction costb
reconstruction. Accordingly the mechanica
engineer was compelled to make the mos
of a bad bargain, and this situation stimu
lated his ingenuity to a marked degree.

The countries which were the greates
offenders in this respect were those o
recent exploitation, or which were onb
beginning to attract commercial interests
such as Australasia and the South America:
States. There the railway builders, hamp
ered by scarcity of funds, reduced the cos
of construction to the lowest possible level
carrying their tracks over obstacles witl
long stretches of banks running up t<
1 in 25, and writhing and twisting througl
favourable channels intersecting the moun

244

THE "FAIRLIE" DOUBLE-ENDED LOCOMOTIVE 245

tains in an amazing manner, so that curves
of 250 feet radius were more the rule than
the exception. The builders scarcely gave
a thought to the railway operator.

As the years rolled by, and the traffic
over these lines became heavier, it grew
more and more difficult to adapt the
ordinary type of locomotive to the work
with any pronounced degree of cheap
working. In the attempt to surmount
the difficulty many freakish designs were
devised, but, needless to say, they only
enjoyed a fleeting existence. They were
ingenious, it is true, but being more novel
than practical, they only helped to swell
the inventor's scrap-heap of hope.

Among these tireless experimenters was
a Scottish engineer, Robert Francis Fairlie.

In 1864 he introduced his solution of
the problem, and the unusual design aroused
considerable interest. It resembled two
tank engines placed back to back with a
common cab and boiler. Each moiety
appeared to be complete, with its smoke-
stack and driving wheels placed beneath
the fore part of each boiler. The most
conspicuous feature of the locomotive,
however, was that each driving wheel unit,
together with its cylinders, was carried
upon a bogie truck. By this means
flexibility was secured, since the upper part
of the engine, comprising the boiler and
fire-box, was pivoted at either end upon
the bogie. This arrangement enabled in-
creased adhesion to the rails to be obtained,
as well as a more efficient distribution of

THE DOUBLE BOILER. FIRE-BOXES. AND FOUNDATION RING OK THE LARGE " FAIRLIE " ENGINE

BUILT FOR THE MEXICAN RAILWAY.

•He passed through the stern school of
practical railway experience both in Ireland
and India, finally relinquishing active
operations in favour of a consulting en-
gineering practice in London. He attacked
the problem, and his varied railway know-
ledge and the peculiar conditions governing
the question gave him an advantage over
his contemporaries, many of whom were
amateur railway enthusiasts, possessed of
merely a rudimentary knowledge of the
subject or what was required.

weight upon the axles, while at the same
time the sharpest curves could be negotiated
with ease. The engine, being double-ended,
could be driven in either direction, so that
turning round was obviated. The cab
was placed centrally, only on each side of
the boilers.

Despite its unusual appearance, the engine
substantiated the claims of its inventor,
and was adopted promptly in those hilly
countries where curves and grades were
adverse to the ordinary locomotive. It was

246

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

introduced into New South Wales, New but they only succeeded in emphasising t
Zealand, the South American countries, complications. Three engines of this cla
Russia, Sweden — in fact, in all those dis- which were built some years ago by
tricts where it offered a solution of a American firm for service in Central Ameri<
perplexing difficulty in railway operation. were among the most complicated railw

engines which ever ha
run over the steel hig
way.

Taken all round, ho
ever, the Fairlie engine rr
the peculiar situation a:
purposes for which it h
been designed very effe<
ively. Now it may be se
working in all parts of t
world where the count
threaded is mountainoi
and where inclines are ste
and curves are sharp. I
to the present no oth
type of engine has prov
more suited to the woi
and as a result larg
and more powerful Fair
engines have been built
meet exigencies of traf
over the lines upon whii
they were introduced,
fact, in certain instances,
far, it has been the mea
of avoiding the cost
process of re-aligning ai
reconstructing the pione
roads.

The Mexican Railw;
has three of these engine
The system, of course, possessed dis- which are among the most powerf
advantages. The mechanism was some- and 'largest of their character th
what more complicated ; trouble was ex- ever have been constructed. They we
perienced in keeping the expansion and built at the Newton - le - Willows loc
ball and socket joints, conveying the steam motive works of the Vulcan Foundr
from the boiler to the cylinders and from Limited, to handle trains of 300 toi
the latter to the exhaust, tight ; while in over banks rising 1 in 25, with curv
later models, of larger size, the variation of 325 feet radius. This standai
of the water level in the boilers when the gauge railway possesses some of tl
engine was working over steep banks was stiffest stretches of road worked I
considerable. Many ingenious attempts to adhesion that it is possible to find
eliminate these shortcomings were made, Central America.

END VIEW OF THE MEXICAN RAILWAY'S HEAVY " FAIRLIE1

ENGINE.

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248

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The two boilers, each measuring 12 feet
11 inches in length by 5 feet outside
diameter, and containing 216
The Boilers, steel tubes, are in one
piece, though there are two
separate fire-boxes, with water space be-
tween. A steam dome is placed upon one
barrel, and provided with four " pop "
safety valves. The total heating surface
of the boilers is 2,924 square feet ; the
grate area is 47-75 square feet. A con-
spicuous feature is the large foundation
ring for the two fire-boxes, which is made
in one piece out of the solid and without
weld.

Each bogie truck carries three pairs of
driving wheels, 4 feet in diameter, the
wheel base of the bogie being 9
Steam feet 3 inches, while the total

Pressure 185 wheel base is 35 feet 6 inches.
pounds to
square inch. The four cylinders — two on

each bogie — have a diameter
of 19 inches and a stroke of 25 inches.
Steam is used at a pressure of 185 pounds
per square inch. The over - all length
of the locomotive is 56 feet If inches,
while the total weight in running order is
138 tons — 69 tons to each engine. The
whole of this weight, representing 23 tons
per axle, is available for adhesion.

The valve-gear is of the Walschaert

pattern, and the reversing gear has been

designed specially to prevent

Gear™"* the Position of the valve
motion being affected by the

engine when entering or leaving curves.
The reversing wheel is operated by means
of bevel gears, which move a horizontal
shaft fixed on each bogie, together with
a quadrant and worm gearing. There is
a ball and socket joint at both ends to
ensure flexibility, and a slot and sleeve on
the diagonal shaft allows for the bogie's
movement. The motion is locked by means
of an air cylinder operated by the Westing-
house air-brake apparatus.

Either coal or oil fuel may be used.
The regulator and driving control are

placed on the footplate on one side
the fire-boxes, which extend through t
centre of the cab, while firing is carried o
from the opposite side. The arrangeme
certainly makes the cab somewhat confine
but in this case this drawback is n
experienced to the same degree as in
Fairlie locomotive built for narrow gau
lines. Either engine may be used i
dependency of the other, two regulat
handles, mounted one above the other a:
working horizontally in a toothed quadrai
being placed on top of the boiler for t
driver.

These engines have proved highly sv
cessful in Mexico and are performing e
cellent work. They are engaged in hauli
trains weighing 340 tons over the stiff<
banks and the sharpest curves, at a spe
of 9 miles per hour.

Another engine of this type, thou
differing in certain conspicuous featur<
which emanated from the

Sheffield works of the York- On the

, . „ . „ T . . , Boliviai

shire Engine Company, Limited, Raj|wa,

is working upon the 2 feet 6
inches gauge lines of the Bolivian Ra
ways. Here the grade runs up to 1 in J
while the curves are as sharp as 230 f<
radius. These engines not only had to
capable of handling heavy loads over su
difficult portions of the system, but h
to be capable of completing long runs
well.

In this instance, instead of there bei
one double boiler, there are two separc
boilers of the Belpaire pattern. Tl
arrangement not only reduces the troul
experienced in connection with the var
tions of the water level within the boile
owing to the inclination of the engh
but provides a roomier cab similar to tr
of the ordinary engine. The water tan!
capable of carrying 1,500 gallons of wat
are continued under the platform of t
cab. The motor bogies, each with ;
coupled wheels of 2 feet 6 inches diamet
have a rigid base of only 6 feet, the to

THE "FAIRLIE" DOUBLE-ENDED LOCOMOTIVE

249

wheel base being 29 feet 4| inches. The
centre pair of wheels on each bogie is
flangeless, and each bogie carries two
outside cylinders, having a diameter of
12 \ inches by 16 inches stroke.

Owing to the narrowness of the gauge
the centre of gravity is kept very low,
the centre line of the boiler being only 4
feet 10J inches above rail level. The
boiler measures 9 feet 3| inches in length
by 3 feet 5| inches diameter, and contains
106 tubes, the total heating surface being
1,046-88 square feet, and the grate area
21 '66 square feet.

In this engine the reversing shaft is
carried along the tops of the tanks, the
gears being coupled and operated with a
screw and wheel action carried on a pillar
in the centre of the footplate. The steam
distribution also is carried out upon im-
proved lines, with the object of overcoming
the difficulty in keeping the pipes and

joints steam-tight, which was one of the
great objections to the earliest types of
Fairlie locomotive. The sand boxes are
placed on top of the boilers, just behind
the smoke stacks, and the sand is led to
the wheels of the bogies through flexible
pipes. Each engine can be driven in-
dependently of the other, a regulator
handle of the general pattern being placed
in the usual position in each part of the
cab. The total weight of the engine in
running order is 52-1 tons.

Although many efforts have been made
to devise an engine superior to the Fairlie
for the service in which this locomotive
excels the broad principles laid down by
the Scottish engineer half-a-century ago
still appear to reign supreme. Modifica-
tions have been made in regard to the
general details, but the fundamental
principles have undergone scarcely any
improvement.

ONE MOTOR BOGIE OF THE "FAIRLIE" ENGINE USED ON THE MEXICAN RAILWAY.

\ \

AN EARLY LOCOMOTIVE AND ROLLING STOCK. SHOWING CHEAP TIMBER TRESTLE

CONSTRUCTION.

From Failure to Fortune— The Stor
of a Great Transcontinental Railwa^

HOW THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, HANDICAPPED BY GREAT FINANCIAL CRISES,
WON THROUGH AND JUSTIFIED THE FORESIGHTEDNESS OF ITS PROMOTERS

T the da\vn of the nineteenth
\ century the settlement of the

•* United States was confined to

the belt lying between the
Atlantic and the Alleghany
Mountains. Between the
Mississippi River and the
Sierra Nevadas was that vast tract of
883,072 square miles which, in 1803, was
sold by Napoleon to the United States for
£3,000,000 — a transaction handed down in
history as " the Louisiana purchase."

Directly this vast territory came under
the Stars and Stripes a keen anxiety to
explore its innermost parts became manifest.
Many expeditions were organised, but only
one matured — that of Lewis and Clark.
These intrepid spirits, after experiencing
privations and adventures innumerable,
gained the Pacific seaboard. The discus-

sion of their journey revealed the fact th
an overland channel of communicatit
between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocea
could be provided. Accordingly a numb
of schemes — many of the wild-cat order-
to this end were formulated.

The most popular project was to folk
the two great rivers, the Missouri and tl
Columbia, to their respective headwate
on the eastern and western slopes of tl
Rocky Mountains, which, it was pointi
out, would need only a short length
intervening rugged country to be bridge
Every traveller who succeeded in crossii
the country by pack-horse, Indian dug-o
and shanks's pony waxed loquacious abo
the ease and simplicity (!) with which
railway could be built through the mou
tain barrier.

However, the scheme languished mr

250

FROM FAILURE TO FORTUNE

251

1844, when it was taken up in grim earnest
by Asa Whitney. He was a man of
wealth, and he devoted all his energies and
resources to arousing public interest for
the construction of a northern trans-
continental railway. He was assailed on
all sides by hostile criticism, but he fought
tenaciously until, having frittered his whole
fortune away in propaganda, he retired
from the scene to eke out a humble existence
as a milkman for the remainder of his days.
But Whitney's work had not been in
vain. He had infused others with his
enthusiasm, and among these

The Pacific was Edwin F Johnson, of Ver-
Railway .

Surveys. mont, who, being a clever en-
gineer, with a big reputation,
was fitted to the task. He was very
aggressive, and although he did not escape
criticism, extreme care had to be displayed
by detractors in attacking his proposal, inas-
much as he tore technical objections raised
by laymen to shreds. Johnson hammered
away at the project until at last he forced
the Government to sanction that momentous
enterprise, the Pacific Railway Surveys,
which was carried out by the foremost
topographical and military engineers of the
time. Five expeditions were dispatched
to the coast, each being allotted a section
of the mountains which it was commanded
to probe through and through, to find the
easiest route for a railway. These labours
are summarised in thirteen bulky volumes,
which have an honourable and undisturbed
resting place in the archives of the Govern-
ment. They are fine pieces of work so
far as they go, but the railway builder of
to-day regards them with ill-disguised
disdain ; he prefers to work out his own
salvation.

When these reports were submitted to
the Government in 1855 they aroused
widespread interest, and formed a perennial
topic of idle parliamentary debate for
another six years. But in 1862 matters
came to a crisis ; academic discussion was
brought to a dramatic end. The State of

California demanded railway communica-
tion with the Eastern States ; if this
request were not met, it would secede from
the Union. Faced with the possibility of
disruption, Congress was stirred to action,
and sanctioned the building of the Union
and Centra] Pacific Railways, to constitute
the first transcontinental steel highway
across the country.

But this decision was at the expense of
the cause which Whitney and Johnson had
espoused so valiantly, and,

as may be supposed, the Gov- The Northern
i - - . „ , Pacific Scheme

ernment decision inflamed Sanctioned.

these interests. Johnson be-
came uncompromisingly aggressive, and, as
he had a large and influential following, the
position of the Government became some-
what perilous. Finally, to appease the
advocates of the northern route, and to
satisfy public opinion, the construction of
the Northern Pacific Railroad was sanc-
tioned, the Act being signed by President
Lincoln on July 2nd, 1864.

The fathers of this enterprise were
jubilant. They had won the day, and
completed preparations to " make the dirt
fly." Johnson wras given the reins of the
undertaking, and under his banner was
enrolled a corps of the finest engineers in
the country. The surveys were run and
the location decided ; everything was ready
to start. But there arose one insuperable
obstacle : whence was the money coming
to finance construction ?

Then came the Civil War. The railway
project was blown sky-high by that great
upheaval. Money could not

be obtained under any con- Th.e^iv!l War
J Interferes.

ditions ; the financiers
clutched their hoards and refused to provide
a penny. But every contretemps brings
its own solution. The Government, being
in a similar plight, was forced to appeal to
the people, and in this movement a new
financial force was introduced — the hitherto
obscure banking house of Jay Cooke and
Company, of Philadelphia. Owing to the

252

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

remarkable success of this firm in the sale
of Government securities to the tune of
£266,000,000 during the dark days of the
war, the Northern Pacific Railroad urged
this house to help them in the provision of
funds for construction in a similar manner.
The bank dispatched its independent en-
gineers through the west to investigate. The
reports being satisfactory, the house agreed
to appeal to the people, as in the case of the
Government's dilemma. It entered into
the undertaking with enthusiasm, and
embarked upon an elaborate campaign to
make known the agricultural, industrial,
and commercial possibilities of the country
traversed by the Northern Pacific.

This in itself was a stupendous piece of

work. In 1870 the territory which was to

be penetrated by the new

An transcontinental boasted only

Uninhabited ______ , , , . , .,

Route. 600,000 people, of which the

State of Minnesota alone
claimed 400,000. The remaining 200,000
were divided into small communities
scattered here and there over territory
which was the home of the Indian,
the buffalo and other animals. Montana
did not possess a sheep or a cow ;
North Dakota was a silent wilderness ;
Eastern Oregon and Washington were the
haunts of the bear and trapper. In view
of such conditions it is not surprising that
timidity was displayed by investors ; that
Jay Cooke's attractive statements were
regarded with suspicion ; and that carping
critics wanted to know whence the railway
was to derive its traffic.

Yet the financiers and railway forces

were not dismayed. With the money

which was harvested 2,000

The Work navvies were set to work in
Begins. .

1870 with their shovels, picks

and wheelbarrows at a point twenty miles
west of Duluth, Minnesota, their eyes being
turned towards the Pacific. The metals
were brought up from the mills and dis-
charged at Duluth at £18 per ton, from
which point they had to be hauled to the

grade as circumstances permitted. By tl
end of the year the winding ribbon of st«
had been laid to the banks of the Red Riv
in Minnesota. Simultaneously the fore
toiling on the western arm, which was
advance eastwards from the Pacific, Tat
been busy, the first sod having been tum<
on the banks of the Columbia River ne
Portland.

Once started, work went ahead, althouf
money was tight. Congress was asked
assist, and in 1871 consented to
the company mortgaging its road T

and land grant. The plains
were traversed as far as Bismarck on tl
Missouri River, while the line had be<
carried from Portland to Tacoma, wh<
came the great financial crash of 187
It caught the young railway at a di
advantage. The statements which Ji
Cooke and Company had circulated co
cerning the possibilities of the count:
penetrated weve assailed vigorously. S
called independent investigators on the sp
were commissioned by parties of investo
to make a trip over the completed portk
of the road and to report upon the outloo
These wiseacres were prejudiced in tl
first instance, and, accordingly, when tl
trains drew away from civilisation ar
rattled through a silent country reflectii
nothing but a drab, sun-scorched surfac
as uninviting as the Sahara, the spirits
the so-called experts sank lower and lowe
They did not look a few inches below tl
exposed surface ; knew nothing about tl
constituents of the soil ; were ignorant <
farming.

" Sell ! Sell ! Sell ! " This was tl
advice the investigators wired back 1
their investing friends in the
cities. At that time there were Disastei
13,000 stockholders in the com-
pany, and no astute manipulation w;
required to precipitate a panic amor
them. The stock was thrown pell -me
on the market to be sold at any pric
Members of the directorate, who cherishe

FILLING IN A TRESTLE BY HYDRAULIC SLUICING.

Building an embankment with material washed down from the mountain-side by water jets. This
method has been borrowed from the old placer miners.

THE NORTH COAST "LIMITED" LEAVING ST. PAUL.
Drawn by the latest type of Pacific (4-6-2) engine.

THE NORTH COAST "LIMITED." REAR VIEW. SHOWING THE OBSERVATION CAR.

254

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

unbounded faith in the undertaking, en-
deavoured to stem the disastrous tide by
bringing tracts of 3,000, 5,000, and 6,000
acres fringing the railway under cultivation,
just to show what the ground would yield.

a heartbreaking shock to those who had
fathered the scheme. They had built 555
miles of line, owned 48 locomotives and
1,230 freight vehicles— not a bad return
for five years' work. Yet far more con-

But their puny efforts were in vain. The vincing than the mileage of steel highway

THE NORTHERN PACIFIC TRANSCONTINENTAL EXPRESS CLIMBING THE 116 FEET PER MILE
GRADE THROUGH THE ROCKIES WITH A "DOUBLE-HEADER."

When the train is heavy a third engine is attached as a "pusher."

news had gone forth that the Northern
Pacific was traversing a desert, where life
was impossible, and where not a blade of
grass could grow. The stampede could
not be stayed ; when the public loses its
head judgment flies out of the window.
Jay Cooke and Company strove hard to
turn the panic, but unsuccessfully, and
they went down in the debacle.

Construction was brought to a standstill.
Not another penny could be raised. The
adverse reports which had been circulated
were too damning to release the purse-
strings. The directors hung on, hoping
against hope that the situation would right
itself, but the corner could not be turned.
The line went into bankruptcy. This was

and the rolling stock was the solidity of
the foundation of the Middle West which
had been laid. In 1870 not a single bushel
of grain had been taken off the land which
the railway threaded ; in 1875 over 500,000
bushels were harvested in this so-called
desert !

After the smash a stand-at-ease policy
was maintained for some years to enable
the United States to recover its financial
footing. The line was kept in thorough
repair, and showed a steady increase
in its revenue, while the desert land,
regarded with disdain, attracted scores of
settlers who brought it under cultivation.

There was one popular fallacy which held
the country locked firmly against agricul-

FROM FAILURE TO FORTUNE

255

tural expansion. This was the impression
of the prairie winter, which was said to be
a nightmare. Certainly the icy blasts from
the North have a clean sweep of several
hundred miles over country as level as a
table-top ; the snowfall is heavy, and,
being unobstructed in its helter-skelter
drift, it does pile up in huge banks,
40 feet or more in depth — even to this
day. The soldiers who were striving to
subdue the recalcitrant Indians holding the
Middle West drew fearsome pictures of the
blizzards, the blood-freezing low tempera-
tures, and the long, hard winter. These
highly - coloured reports even scared the
settlers who ventured into this domain to
such a degree that many, after they had
gathered their harvests, locked the doors
of their shacks, departed to the towns to
hibernate through the winter, and returned
to their lands in the spring.

Unfortunately the railway management
made no effort to dispel these fears ; rather
they supported them. When
the last bushel of grain had
been loaded into the railway
truck and dispatched to market, all
locomotives, wagons, and men on the
prairie were withdrawn. The company
concluded that it was better to close down
the railway for five months or so rather
than face the fury of winter.

These illusions prevailed until they were
dispelled in a somewhat unusual manner.
The Sioux Rebellion of 1876, the massacre
of Custer and his little band, and the
general insecurity of the country arising
from the success of the Red Men stung the
Government to drastic action. The railway
had reached the east bank of the Mississippi,
and Bismarck, at the railhead, had become
an important strategical centre. The
Government completed its plan of cam-
paign ; Bismarck was to be the base.
As it was essential for the War Office to
be in close rail and telegraphic communica-
tion with the front, the railway company,
after the harvest of 1876 had been garnered,

The Winter
Traffic.

was asked to refrain from withdrawing its
men and rolling stock for the winter, but to
keep the line open for military purposes.

The Government traffic was somewhat
heavy, and Nature, as if determined to aid
the refractory Red Men, hurled its forces
—blinding blizzards, tornado-like winter
storms, and heavy snowfalls — upon the
railway with unparalleled savagery. Yet
the management experienced no difficulty
in keeping the line open. The delays to the
trains were slight and the rolling stock
suffered no injury. Assuredly the terrors
of the prairie winter had been exaggerated.
Why, the Northern Pacific suffered fewer
losses and less delays from the snow-fiend
on the open plains than had the New York
Central in the settled East during the same
winter ! The bogey was laid ; from that
winter forward the line was kept open the
whole year round.

In 1879, the railway having retrieved
its position somewhat, financial aid was
forthcoming, and construction

was resumed. On the eastern Bridging the

Mississippi.

section the broad rolling

swathe of water of the Mississippi River
had to be crossed. This demanded a
massive metal bridge, 1,400 feet long,
divided into three spans, with the railway
track placed 50 feet above the water. By
the time this was completed £200,000 had
gone — a somewhat big item, when money
was tight, to advance the railway by less
than a quarter of a mile ! After the west
bank was reached the constructional forces
advanced over the rolling plains of Dakota
and Montana as far as the foothills of the
Rockies at a rapid pace. The surveyors
eased the cost of construct on by following
the line of least resistance. Instead of
conquering prodigious obstacles by the
completion of striking pieces of work, they
sought to avoid them, although the grade
and curvature suffered somewhat in the
process.

On the west coast the railway was pushed
forward just as rapidly, although there.

256

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

owing to the Cascades disputing advance,
progress was less marked in point of dis-
tance. Huge rifts in the mountains had

stern resistance, so that several months
passed before the Bozeman Tunnel, 3,610
feet long, and the Mullan Tunnel, of 3,847

to be spanned, and these were overcome feet, were pierced. Simultaneously with the

THE NORTH COAST "LIMITED" CROSSING THE BRIDGE SPANNING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER,
WHICH DIVIDES THE TWIN CITIES OF ST. PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS.

by erecting massive timber trestles, for
which millions of feet of lumber cut in the
vicinity were used. The humps of the
mountains were trimmed back to provide
a narrow causeway for the metals. The
turbulent mountain rivers were spanned
by heavy wooden bridges and trestles,
everything being carried out upon pioneer
lines to reduce constructional costs as
much as possible.

While tunnelling was reduced to the
minimum, it could not be avoided entirely.
Two heavy works of this character were
required to get through the Rocky Moun-
tains. In both cases the rock put up a

driving of the main line from each end,
short spurs were laid down into promising
districts for mining, lumbering, and agricul-
tural development. In nearly every in-
stance the branches resembled the main
track, inasmuch as they preceded the
settlers, so that a period of some years of
unproductiveness had to be faced before
any profits were likely to accrue.

The vigorous energy with which con-
struction was maintained when the en-
gineering forces once more settled down to
their stride was due to the tireless activity
of Mr. Henry Villard, who assumed control
of the railway, and who, having built up

FROM FAILURE TO FORTUNE

257

a commanding railway managing reputation section of a transcontinental railway was

in the West, was fitted to the post, which, somewhat daring. But Villard maintained

under the stringent monetary conditions, that electric operation would be cheaper

was somewhat onerous. Villard was a born than steam, and that it was certain to be

railway administrator, of strong character used for the mountain sections of big rail-

THE OLD AND THE NEW. NEAR I.APPINGTON.

To the left is the original bridge built of wood. The old line was abandoned when the new,
straight and more level track was finished.

and remarkable foresight, who commanded
the unbounded confidence of powerful finan-
cial interests. He had been associated with
Mr. Thomas Alva Edison, and, in 1881,
when the Wizard of Orange was experiment-
ing with his electric railway at Menlo Park,
for the construction of which Villard was
primarily responsible, and in which he sank
his own money, he discussed with Edison
the electrification of the Northern Pacific
through the Rocky Mountains. When it is
remembered that at this date electric rail-
way working was in its infancy, when not
more than 2| miles of electric railway were
in operation, and that as an experiment,
the idea of applying this motive power to a
33

ways at all events, since adequate energy
is generally available from the mountain
torrents.

Villard also trusted his engineers im-
plicitly— he did not hamper them in any
way. It was up to the engineers to give
the best return on the outlay. The en-
gineers appreciated this feeling of trust,
and certainly gave the President as fine a
railway as could be expected, though in
consummating this end they spent some
£4,000,000 more than was anticipated.
Villard spurred his men on, since he recog-
nised that the sooner the undertaking was
completed the earlier would a great stream
of traffic flow along the steel channel. The

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

spring of 1883 saw the two long arms within
measurable distance of one another, and it
was only a matter of weeks before the rails
from the east met those coming from the
west. On September 8th, 1883, amid wild
festivity, the golden spike was driven at
Gold Creek, in Hcllgate Canyon, Montana,
the spike used for the auspicious event
being the very first that was driven into
a sleeper 20 miles west of Duluth in
1870, when the Northern Pacific Railroad
was commenced. By this linking together
of the two sections an aggregate of 2,259
miles were brought into operation.

The most sensational display of engineer-
ing on the whole line, however, was the
driving of the Stampede Tun-

The Stampede j to overcome the Cascade
Tunnel.

Mountains. The route across

this obstacle had been a matter of discussion
among the officers of the company since the
first spadeful of earth was turned in 1870,
and for eleven years the question was
debated as to which pass through the
range should be followed. The surveying
engineers narrowed the issue down to a
choice of three —the Natches, the Stampede,
and the Snoqualmie Passes. Whichever
route was taken a tunnel was necessary,
so that it was a matter of selecting the most
advantageous route from the economic and
traffic point of view.

The decision was left almost completely
to Mr. Virgil G. Bogue, who at that time
was chief assistant engineer. He had been
spying through the mountains for years,
being responsible for the mountain division
of the railway. Through his energy the
Stampede Pass was discovered, he having
sent a party through the mountains over
this route, when no knowledge of such a
gateway existed. Mr. Virgil G. Bogue is
one of those great railway engineers who
have been created by railway building in
the western United States, who at a later
date provided the United States with its
easiest and fastest transcontinental railway
— the Western Pacific having a maximum

grade of only 52 feet per mile — as described
in another chapter.

In 1884 Mr. Bogue recommended the
adoption of the Stampede Pass, and out-
lined a tunnel nearly 2 miles in length,
which he estimated could be completed in
twenty-eight months. Acting on this advice
the railway company called for tenders for
the contract. There was no intention of
permitting the successful contractor to dally
over his work. The bore was to be com-
pleted in the above time under a penalty
of £20,000 and 10 per cent, of the contract
price. All the leading railway builders on
the continent bid for the work, but when
the tenders were opened it was found that
an unknown man, Nelson Bennett, was,
ready to accept the conditions, and to
complete the job for £232,000. His
nearest rival wanted over £400,000. The
Bennett tender was accepted, but the com-
peting firms maintained that it never could
be done for the price, and that the contractor
from the west would " go broke " over the
transaction. But Bennett knew more than
they. He had built some of the most diffi-
cult sections of the line in the western
mountains ; had worked under Mr. Bogue ;
and was confident that the time set down
was adequate for the task, so was prepared
to rely on the estimated time.

The contractor hustled. His bid was
accepted on January 21st, 1886, and he
had undertaken to complete

the tunnel by May 21st, 1888. The

T j.i -VT ii T» -c Contractor's

Leaving the Northern Pacific Djffjcuities.

Railroad offices in New York
with his contract, he at once ordered all
the plant required, at the same time wiring
to his general manager in the west to
gather an army of men and to cut roads
from the railheads to the tunnel site.
What this meant may be gathered from
the fact that a wagon-road had to be
driven through primeval mountain forest
for 82 miles on the east, and for 87 miles
on the west side of the range, rising
from 500 to 4,200 feet altitude. The

FROM FAILURE TO FORTUNE

259

cutting of these tote-roads, and the trans-
port of the heavy machinery was far more
exacting and difficult than the boring of
the tunnel itself. The country was under
snow at the time, and huge sleds were
improvised from trees cut down on the
spot. There came a sudden thaw, and
the surface of the rude road was converted
into mire about 4 feet deep. The heavy
loads had to be hauled through this semi-
liquid glue by block and tackle, and a mile
a day was a good average progress.

An advance army of men were got on to
the tunnel site with as much speed as
possible, and they commenced driving the
bore 16J feet wide by 22 feet high through
the detritus on each side. In this pre-
liminary work two mountain streams had
to be diverted, one of which fell in a
beautiful cascade across the eastern portal
from a height of 170 feet.

While the tunnel faces were being ex-
cavated the railway engineers appeared on

the scene to lay a temporary
track th This

in itself was an amazing
piece of work, comprising a switchback
along which the trains were pushed and
pulled from level to level over grades
running 300 feet per mile. Standing at the
top of the western zig-zag six tracks were
revealed sawing to and fro down the slope.
This switchback cost £80,000 to build, and
was completed by July 2, 1887. When it
was abandoned ten months later, upon the
completion of the tunnel, the switchback
had earned £100,000 for the company, so
that, although £80,000 worth of work was
scrapped, the company had profited by
£20,000 over its provision.

Owing to the difficulties encountered in
reaching the portals six out of the twenty-

eight months allotted to the
Drilling t k slipped by together with
the Bore. J

an expenditure of £25,000 in

getting up the machinery. By this time
the advance gangs of men had driven their
way into the mountain, from each side, for

An £80,000
Switchback.

a total distance of 900 feet with hand-drills,
leaving 8,950 feet to be drilled through
rock by the machine tools in twenty-two
months. The men were divided into ten-
hour shifts, at wages ranging from 10s. to
20s. a day, according to their skill, and
as much more as they could make over the
13' 58 feet per day which was set down as
the average progress necessary to complete
the tunnel on time.

No effort was spared to maintain the
scheduled rate of advance. But when
water burst in, and caused the rock-hogs
to abandon their task, serious delays
occurred, so that the work completed fell
behind the required amount. Then friction
arose between the contractor's superinten-
dent, who was popular with the men, and
the railway company's resident engineer.
At last the tunnel builder was forced to
request the railway to change their official,
as the contract was in jeopardy. This was
done, and, harmony being restored, the
miners set to work with redoubled energy.
They not only made up leeway, but
got ahead of the schedule. As the borers
knew that the contractor was up against
a time - limit they let themselves go.
Spirited rivalry sprang up between the
gangs working on the two faces as to which
finally would put the greatest length of the
tunnel to its credit.

The bore was driven from a centre
heading, from which it was widened out
subsequently to its full dimen-
sions. An ingenious machine
was devised to facilitate
work at the heading. It was like a big
table, straddling the full width of the tunnel,
with its legs mounted on two-wheeled trucks
which ran along a track. It was sufficiently
high to permit the dump cars to pass beneath,
to be filled from the top of the table through
shoots. The " bench " or footing of rock
in the lower part of the tunnel was kept
30 feet from the drilling face in the heading,
and on this the drillers toiled. When the
holes had been driven, and the " shots "

260

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

REBUILDING IN STEEL THE OLD TIMBER TRESTLE ACROSS GREENHORN GULCH IN THE

ROCKY MOUNTAINS.

Lowering a 61 foot girder from the cars.

tamped home, all tools were thrown upon
this travelling table, which was pushed
down the tunnel for some distance while
the blast was made. When the smoke and
fumes had cleared away the table was
pushed to the front again, a fresh series of
holes driven in the rock face, the muck
brought down from the previous shots being
cleared on to the table and emptied through
the shoots into the trucks beneath. The
men appreciated this device, and promptly
dubbed it the " Go-Devil."

As the time-limit drew nearer and nearer
money was poured out like water to keep
pace with the scheduled advance. The
spirited urging of the contractor was not
in vain. The men became infused with
his zeal, and they drew heavy rewards in
bonuses. The labourers were fed well at
the contractor's camps at a cost of 3s.

a day, while the only other essential expendi-
ture was a contribution of 4s. a month
towards the hospital established for their
benefit.

On May 3rd, 1888, eighteen days before
the expiration of the contract time, the
last piece of rock was broken down, per-
mitting the opposing drilling forces to
shake hands with one another. Eleven
days later the excavation was completed.
Two days after the metals were laid from
end to end, and on May 21st, the contracted
date, Bennett handed over the work to
the railway, the first regular train running
through the bore on May 22nd. As a
tunnel-boring achievement, bearing in mind
the abnormal difficulties encountered in
getting to the work, it stands unique.

When the completed line settled down
an era of prosperity appeared to be

FROM FAILURE TO FORTUNE

261

assured. Settlers were pouring into the
country, and were developing the land
contiguous to the main line and its spurs.
The rolling stock had grown in 1883-84
to 391 locomotives, 283 passenger coaches,
10,149 freight cars, while the gross earnings
had risen to over £2,100,000 per annum.
A policy of overhaul was immediately taken
in hand, owing to the prosperity of the
line and the growth of its traffic. The
timber trestles were buried under solid
earthen embankments piled up by washing
hills of spoil down in streams from the
mountain sides under hydraulic jets. Tim-
ber bridges across creeks and torrents were
replaced by metal structures, and flatter
banks and easier curves secured./ In three
years over 3,760,000 new sjeepers were
placed. The tracks, laid with heavier metals,
were ballasted with stone gravel to permit
acceleration of the cross-country expresses.

The Northern Pacific Railroad enjoyed
seven years of indisputable plenty, and
appeared to be established upon a firm
footing. By 1899 the gross revenue had
increased to £5,000,000 per annum, and
the operating expenses had been reduced
to 47 per cent, of the gross earnings.
Unfortunately, however, owing to the
exceptionally heavy cost of construction,
the fixed charges became a mill-stone round
its neck, the strangling effects of which
were not experienced when the railway was
on the crest of the wave of prosperity.

Then came a heavy fall in the traffic ;
the United States, with its characteristic
capriciousness, was hit by another financial
stampede, and the Northern Pacific Rail-
road was dragged down in the disaster of
1893. It was a sorry trick of fortune, but
this enterprise appeared to be dogged with
ill-luck. The full effect of the fixed charges

SLUICING A TRESTLE: THE LATEST METHOD OF BUILDING AN EMBANKMENT.

262

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

overload now became felt only too acutely.
Villard struggled hard, but even his ability
failed to stave off the crisis. A receiver
was appointed to straighten things out.
Villard suffered heavily. He lost his fortune
and almost his reason as well. It was a
disheartening sequel to years of hard work.
He had snatched the railway from a mori-
bund condition and had placed it firmly on
its feet. His financial arrangements were
criticised severely in certain quarters, but
in an undertaking such as this, which was
composed of two ends and no middle, the
obvious task was to provide the missing
link, even if it did entail, as in this instance,
prodigious expense. When he assumed the
reins the Northern Pacific was regarded
as a " hoodoo " enterprise, and he had to
pay dearly for the accommodation to keep
the engineers going, some of the bonds and
stock carrying 6 and 7 per cent, interest.
Villard was so stupefied by the magnitude
of the financial catastrophe that he would
have gone under had it not
Edison and been for Edison. The inventor
Villard.

was asked to cheer up the broken

railway magnate, and only succeeded in
achieving the desired end by discussing
with him the electric light, which just then
was coming into its own. Villard had
backed Edison against all antagonistic
argument concerning the electric railway,
and the inventor now had an opportunity
to reciprocate. He urged Villard to throw
his energies into the exploitation of the
electric light. The ruined financier took
his friend's advice, regained hrs feet, and
amassed a new fortune.

The receivers continued the overhauling

and improving policy which had been

taken in hand before the crash.

Revival of Qn September 1st, 1896, the Nor-
ProsocFi tv

them Pacific Railroad, valued at

£65,000,000, was sold under foreclosure
proceedings to the Northern Pacific Rail-
way Company, and as such it is known
to-day.

The third attempt to render this trans-

continental highway a railway power in
the land has met with conspicuous success.
Now it is one of the greatest roads on the
continent. The new blood, not satisfied
with the condition of the property, went
over it from end to end, eliminating all
adverse grades and curves, strengthening
bridges, re-ballasting the track, and laying
it with heavier steel rails to secure still
higher speeds with heavier train loads.
In three years alone 829 skort bridges and
trestles were taken out and replaced by
earthen embankments. A huge scrap-heap
was perforcedly created in carrying out this
policy. Larger, faster, and more powerful
locomotives were introduced, while the 8
to 18- ton goods wagons were replaced by
vehicles capable of carrying 20 to 45 tons.

As in the case of the Canadian Pacific,
the sheet anchor of this American trans-
continental railway throughout
its varying fortunes has been the 1. r3
grant of land, which averaged
so much per mile. The construction
of the railway brought some 45,000,000
miles into its hands for sale, and the
peopling of this vast territory not only
has swelled the receipts, but virtually has
ensured a traffic income, since the line
handles practically the whole of the
necessities and produce of this adjacent
population.

Subsequent events have served to sub-
stantiate the contentions of the fathers of
this transcontinental, and also the state-
ments that were issued by the banking firm
of Jay Cooke and Company respecting the
possibilities of the country traversed. The
land which at that time could not find pur-
chasers at 6d. per acre now commands from
£15 to £120 per acre. The tributaries of
the Northern Pacific Railway ramify in all
directions through the west in the interests
of holiday-making, sight-seeing, agricul-
tural, mineralogical, and forestal activity.
The system has built up the prosperity of
Seattle, Spokane, Portland, and a host of
other cities and towns along its route.

LOOKING THROUGH THE FORTH BRIDGE.

The Forth Bridge

A WORK WHICH COST £3,000,000 AND CONTAINS OVER 50,000 TONS OF STEEL

LTHOUGH the majority of
engineering achievements in
connection with British rail-
ways which were considered
brilliant wonders in their day
have been since outrivalled in
other parts of the world, there
is one piece of work which still stands
supreme. This is the Forth Bridge, span-
ning that storm-swept indentation on the
East Scottish coast known as the Firth
of Forth.

When railways commenced to grow and
reached farther and farther out until at

last they offered an east coast route be-
tween London and the northernmost
centres of Scotland, this wide estuary
offered an insurmountable obstacle to
continuous communication. As is well
known, this way to the North runs via
Newcastle and Edinburgh to Perth, Dun-
dee, and points beyond. Prior to the
bridging of the Forth a steam ferry plied
across the estuary, but this was incon-
venient, slow, and uncomfortable. The
result was that travellers to Dundee
favoured the west coast route via Car-
lisle, inasmuch as thereby through direct

264

266

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Suggestion.

communication was- available. An all-rail
stcclway was offered on the east coast, but
it meant a detour of 70 miles via Stirling
to reach Burntisland from Edinburgh,
although the two points on opposite sides
of the Forth are only about eight miles
apart.

This put 'the east coast route at such
' an overwhelming disadvantage that the
North British Railway Com-

pany, which was the system
* •" J

most vitally affected, set out
to obtain direct railway communication

: across the estuary. The matter became
imperative, owing to the acute competi-
tion of the west coast route. The ur-
gency of some such short cut across the
waterway had been appreciated years

. previously, and both tunnelling and bridg-
ing schemes were outlined, discussed, and
abandoned as impracticable. In 1872,
however, Sir (then Mr.) Thomas Bouch
advanced a proposal to bridge the Forth

•at the old Queen's Ferry, which is so
familiar to readers of Scott. He pre-
ferred this point because the Firth here

'is narrowed to 1| miles, while in the centre
of the estuary is^thc rocky islet of Inch-
garvic. This engineer, who carried out
the first Tay Bridge, evolved a startling
proposal. His design was somewhat similar
to the Clifton, Menai, Brooklyn, and other
bridges of this type, with two spans, each
of 1,600 feet in length.

The engineer succeeded in satisfying his

supporters of the feasibility of such a

structure, and the requisite

The parliamentary sanction was

EHnsta?.** obtained in 1873> the Forth
Bridge Company being formed,

with a capital of £1,666,666, to complete
the work. The contract was secured by
Messrs. Arrol ; but, unfortunately, several
delays arose, which postponed the com-
mencement of the task until 1879. At
the time these delays were exasperating,
but it was providential that they occurred.
During the stormy night of Sunday,

December 28th, 1879, the central part of
Bouch's other great work, the Tay Bridge,
fell into the Tay while a passenger train
was crossing from shore to shore. Of the
seventy-two people aboard not a single
one escaped.

The extent of this catastrophe and the
startling details which were revealed as a
result of the subsequent in-
quiry brought public opinion The Lesson
antagonistic to Sir Thomas T Bridge.
Bouch's proposal for bridging
the Forth. The Tay Bridge disaster, in a
way, was fortunate, as there is no doubt but
that, had it been completed, the Bouch Forth
Bridge would have come down with the
first heavy north-easterly gale which rolled
up the Firth of Forth. He had made
' a wind pressure allowance of 10 pounds
per square foot — a ridiculously inadequate
provision for such a structure as he pro-
posed. The Board of Trade decreed that
if such a bridge were undertaken it would
have to be designed to withstand a wind
pressure of 56 pounds per square foot on
the surface of the side elevation of the
structure.

Bridging the Forth appeared to be in
danger of becoming numbered among the
apparently impossible things
when it was revived by Mr. A Joint
Matthew William Thompson,
the chairman of the Midland
Railway. The latter was interested in the
completion of the bridge, and a meeting
of the directors of the North British, North
Eastern, Great Northern, and Midland
Railways was held at York to consider a
co-operative proposal. The engineers of
the three British companies — Mr. Barlow
of the Midland, Mr. Harrison of the North
Eastern, and Sir John Fowler of the
Great Northern — were requested to inves-
tigate the question. They did so, and, as
a result, advanced the statement that the
bridging of the Forth was not insuperable.
Accordingly, they were invited to submit
a design which they could recommend for

THE FORTH BRIDGE

267

adoption, and which would coincide with
the requirements of the Board of Trade.
Sir John Fowler, in collaboration with
his colleague, Mr. (afterwards Sir) Ben-
jamin Baker, drew up a design for a
massive cantilever bridge.

In spanning the Firth of Forth due
regard had to be paid to the claims of
navigation, which are considerable. The
significance of this provision is more
potent to-day, since the new British naval
base, Rosyth, has been established above

Tancrcd, a well - known railway builder,
were prominent partners.

The undertaking aroused the keenest
interest throughout the world, not only
from its immensity, but because of the
cantilever design which was adopted. The
principle, however, is by no means new —
in fact, next to the arch, it probably ranks
as the oldest bridge-building principle in
the world. Bridges of this character were
common centuries ago in China, Tibet, and
other little known countries, while I have

FORTH BRIDGE.

QUEENSFERRY.

ELEVATION?"*^
INCH GARVII.
5349. 6". — .

FIFE.

PLAN.
..6296!....

PLAN AND ELEVATION OF THE BRIDGE

the bridge. Under the circumstances, a
clear headway of 150 feet at high spring
tides was given. The design comprised
two spans each 1,710 feet in length, two
of 689 feet 9 inches, and approach via-
ducts comprising fifteen spans of 168
feet, each resting on granite piers ; four
arch spans in granite, each of 57 feet,
and three of 25 feet — practically Ij miles
in all.

The details of the design were investi-
gated thoroughly, and finally it was adopted
as being the best possible solution of the
problem. Messrs. Fowler and Baker were
appointed as the engineers to the under-
taking. With much difficulty, and in the
face of severe opposition, the requisite
Parliamentary Act was obtained in 1882,
and at the end of that year the contract
for erection was secured by Messrs. Tan-
cred, Arrol, and Co., a firm incorporated
especially for this task, and of which the
late Sir William Arrol and Sir Thomas S.

seen crude structures of this type, which
have been built by the Red Indians,
thrown across yawning canyons among
the mountains of North-Wcst Canada.

Not only did the new bridge eclipse
anything previously attempted in these
islands, but it was far and away more
ambitious in its dimensions than any-
thing hitherto completed in any other
part of the world. Under these circum-
stances the engineers were deprived of
precedents to guide them. Pioneering
had to be carried out from beginning to
end. Special devices, methods, and tools
had to be evolved to cope with unusual
conditions, and teasing problems had to
be unravelled practically every day.

The first move in actual construction
was the erection of the approach viaducts,
and simultaneously the piers for the canti-
levers. These latter were placed respec-
tively on the Queensferry and Fife shores,
while the central pier was built on Inch-

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270

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

garvie Island. At each of these places
there are four cylindrical piers, and for
the most part they were built upon the
pneumatic caisson method. The sea-bed
varied from boulder clay on the Queens-
ferry side to rock on Inchgarvie Island
and the Fife bank. The iron caissons were
built on shore, launched, towed out to the
site, and lowered. Despite the size and
weight of these caissons, and the difficulties
experienced in handling them when afloat,
they were sunk successfully with one ex-
ception. While the fourth caisson for the
South Queensferry pier was being handled,
it !tilted 'slightly, permitting the water to
enter through the rivet holes. It became
submerged, got out of control,, and finally
slid on the mud. It was an unfortunate
mishap ; nine months slipped by before
the caisson was restored to the vertical
position.

At the bottom of the caisson was a
working chamber, 7 feet in height, where the
excavators toiled, under corn-
How the pressed air. Admittance and
Piers were ., , , , ,

Sunk egress were through the usual

shafts and air locks. Owing to
the character of the clay the caissons had
to be sunk to depths ranging between 70
and 90 feet. At this depth the base of
the piers is 70 feet in diameter, tapering
gradually to 60 feet at low-water level,
while they are spaced 155 feet apart in the
case of the shore piers and 270 feet on
Inchgarvie Island, from centre to centre.
The material as removed from the sea
bed was sent aloft in skips through the
shaft to be dumped into barges. Work
was continued uninterruptedly in shifts
throughout the twenty-four hours, and, as
a rule, from 200 to 300 skip loads were
removed during the complete day by
a force of from twenty to thirty men.
As the soil was excavated the caisson
settled lower and lower under the weight
of the superimposed concrete until the
requisite depth was gained, when the air
shafts were filled up and the masonry

upper work continued to the designed
height above high water.

On Inchgarvie Island, as the subaqueous
work had to be carried through rock to
secure a level bench 70 feet below water,
and as the caisson system just described
was impracticable, owing to the slope of
the rock, the base of the caisson was con-
verted for the occasion practically into a
huge diving-bell, 70 feet in diameter. As
the men laboured in compressed air, at
times a sensational spectacle was wit-
nessed as the tide was falling. The water
over the site became agitated and fussed
like a boiling cauldron, owing to the pres-
sure of the air within the working space
of the caisson exceeding that of the head
of water outside and accordingly secur-
ing its escape. These " blows " often were
a source of excitement and dismay among
uninitiated visitors, who conjured up
visions of a terrible disaster among the
drillers and blasters some 70 feet below.

From the centre of each pier rises a
gigantic tube, or leg of steel, to a height
of 343 feet. They do not
rise vertically, but each
broadside pair leans inwards.
Thus at the base, looking through the
length of the bridge, the tubes are 120
feet apart, but at the top they are 33 feet
apart. These sloping columns .are 12 feet
in diameter, and at the base each sloping
pair is connected by a horizontal tube of
the same diameter. At the top the ends
are connected by a box lattice girder, which
likewise is 12 feet in depth. Additional
strength is imparted by two diagonals
formed of tubes 8 feet in diameter, thus
imparting prodigious strength to the deep-
est part of the cantilever.

From either side of this central section,
or panel, the arm of the cantilever springs
to a distance of 680 feet

from the pier. Each bottom Ihei.

e Cantilevers.

member of the arms com-
prises a steel tube 12 feet in diameter
where it rises from the " skew-back " or

THE FORTH BRIDGE

271

bcd-platc on the piers, and tapers to 5
feet in diameter at the extremity of its
overhang. At the piers these two mem-
bers are spaced 120 feet apart, but as they
lean out over the water they draw gradu-
ally together until at the end they arc
31 feet 6 inches apart. The top mem-
bers, comprising a pair of box lattice
girders, taper from 12 feet square at the
pier to 5 feet at the outer extremities,
while they likewise bear inwards from
33 feet apart at the piers to 22 feet 3
inches at the ends. As they descend in
their outward reach the depth of the
cantilever, which is 343 feet at the piers,
becomes decreased to 40 feet at the limit
of the 680 feet overhang. These top and
bottom members of the cantilever are
strengthened by tubes, radiating, as it
were, from the piers like the ribs of a fan
in one, and by box lattice girders in the
opposite direction, so that a diagonal
system of bracing is obtained. In addi-
tion to this longitudinal bracing there is an
intricate system of transverse bracing, the
steel lattice work being of an elaborate
character. Looking broadside at the bridge
from a distance, it appears to be distinctly
frail ; but standing at one end of the
bridge and looking through to the- other,
it appears to be an intricate maze of steel-
work, so intricate, in fact, as to have
prompted the remark that " one could not
fire a bullet from a rifle across without
hitting the steelwork somewhere."

But, except on those sides where the

shore cantilevers reach out to join the

approach viaducts, the over-

The hang, 680 feet, is not sufficient

Connecting . . ., T

Girder *° bring the arms together. In

fact, there was a gap of 380
feet over the channel on either side of Inch-
garvie. This gap is closed with a girder 346
feet 6 inches long, 41 feet deep at the end,
and 51 feet deep at the centre, and weigh-
ing 872 tons. It was built out from either
end of the opposite arms, and connected
together 150 feet above high water.

The cantilever is secured to the piers
by the aid of bed-plates. The upper part
of each pier is provided with forty-eight
steel bolts, 2| inches in diameter, sunk to
a depth of 26 feet in the masonry. These
bolts received the lower bed- plates, which
comprised five plates of steel held together
by countersunk rivets. Upon these were
superimposed four layers of steel, consti-
tuting the upper bed-plates. Each set of
bed-plates represented a weight of about
100 tons. Then the skew-back, some 40
feet in length, which unites in its grasp all
the ten members of the cantilever, was
riveted to the upper bed-plate.

As might be supposed, the unique cha-
racter and size of this bridge demanded
the elaboration of special erecting
methods. Practically speaking, the
bridge was built twice : first piece-
meal at the works on shore. The material
was brought in its raw condition from
the rolling mills to the contractors' shops,
and there fashioned to the required
shape and design. Special machines were
built to meet every phase of the work.
There were large mandrels to which the
plates were bent for the tubular parts
of the fabric, huge hydraulic presses for
bending the plates, furnaces for heating
the metal, drilling machines, and so
forth. At first attempts were made to
bend the plates in their cold condition to
the desired curve, but this proved imprac-
ticable, so that a careful heating method
had to be adopted. Every piece was fitted
to its neighbour on shore, and every rivet
hole examined by the engineers before it
was passed. If an additional rivet hole
were deemed necessary to make a good,
sound job, the sanction of the engineers,
who, metaphorically speaking, lived on
the works, had to be obtained, and assent
was not extended until its necessity had
become fully recognised and it was found
that the metal would not be weakened in
the slightest degree by such action.

The engineers took no chances ; they

272

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Photograph by courtesy of Messrs. Baker & Ifttrtzif.

RAISING THE MASSIVE STEEL LEGS ON THE FIFE
PIER. APRIL 15. 1887.

These huge tubes tower to a height of 343 feet.

were resolved not to be surprised
by the development of something
unforeseen at an unexpected mo-
ment. It was these elaborate
cautionary methods which enabled
work to proceed steadily and persis-
tently once it was commenced, and
which eliminated those periodical in-
terruptions and hitches which often
accompany undertakings of this
calibre. The truth of the old saw,
' Make haste slowly," perhaps never
was driven home more powerfully
than in the building of the Forth
Bridge.

One instance of this decision to
risk nothing may be related. At
the time the work was in progress
knowledge of the effect of wind
pressure upon bridges of large size,
the caprices of the wind, its action,
and, more particularly, its force in
the Firth of Forth, were somewhat
hazy. On the island of Inchgarvie,
which is exposed to the full brunt
of a gale coming from the cast, Sir
Benjamin Baker set up some wind
gauges, the records of which were
observed carefully and frequently.
One was of large size, measuring
20 by 15 feet. In the centre of
this surface was placed a tiny gauge,
resembling a door, with a superficies
of about 2 feet, while it was flanked
on either side by another gauge.
On each shore other gauges were set
,up. Some very remarkable results
were noticed. Thus when the large
gauge was registering a pressure of
12 pounds per square foot it was
found that the little gauge at the
same time recorded as much as 25
pounds per square foot. This served
to show that there is a tendency
for the wind to act something after
the manner of a jet of water. At
other times, when the Inchgarvie
gauge registered a pressure of 34

THE FORTH BRIDGE

273

junds per square foot, the shore gauges
would show anything from 12 to 22 pounds
per square foot, proving conclusively that
the strongest blows come in puffs, or are felt
over only a comparatively small area. The
sum of these practical observations cer-
tainly tended to show that the wind is far
more liable to affect a small rather than
a large bridge adversely, because in the

travelling platform, whereon the handling
machinery was placed ; while cradles, or
cages, were placed around the tubular
columns for the riveters and their machines.
The men were lifted and lowered by
means of hoists and cages, similar to those
employed in mines, so that the minimum
of time was lost in getting from and to
the working areas, while the material was

i by t

rs. Ka\er £~ Hu

THE QUEENSFERRY MAIN PIER. NOV. 7. 1888.

latter case there is less likelihood of the
whole structure becoming engulfed in the
zone of the most powerful wind effort.
So far as the Forth Bridge is concerned,
exposed as it is broadside to the wind
blowing through the Forth funnel, it is
not likely to experience any ill-effects, in-
asmuch as the minimum of resistance is
offered, owing to the open character of the
fabric, as compared with its transverse
section.

The setting of the steel likewise was car-
ried out upon ingenious and novel lines.
Scaffolding was impossible. Instead, in the
case of the central section of each canti-
lever, the work was carried out from the
base to the top by means of a vertically
35

handled with the maximum of expedition.
So successful were these arrangements that
the centre portion of the Queensferry
cantilever was built up to its full height
of 281 feet in about twenty-four weeks.
Similarly, in running out the bottom
members of the cantilever a cage was
erected around the outer end of the grow-
ing tube on which a crane was mounted,
while the cage itself contained the rivet-
ing machinery and small special heating
furnaces. This cage did not move along
a run-way ; but, as the tube advanced,
the back part of the cage was dismantled
and re-erected at the forward end, this
procedure being repeated until the erect-
ing work was completed.

2/4

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The task of connecting up the arms of
opposing halves of a span in such a huge
structure as this is extremely delicate. A
mass of steel, 855 feet in length, which
represented one moiety from end to end,
has a pronounced stretch under the action
of the sun's rays. The calculations neces-
sary to enable connection to be accom-
plished with the minimum of delay were
made, and the closing lengths, or key
pieces, were carefully prepared. A cloudy
day, when the temperature was equable,
was selected for the task, and the breaches
were closed in accordance with the pre-
arranged plans, without the slightest hitch.
Moreover, the details were prepared in such
a manner as to enable the key piece to be
completed, and the temporary connection
to be cut away, in a few hours.

An interesting story in connection with

this part of the work may be related.

The task advanced more

The First rapidly on the Queensferry
Man Across. '

than on the Fife bank, so

that on September 26th, 1889, the two
arms on the latter side were ready to be
closed. There was a keen rivalry among
the workmen on the opposite ends of the
meeting arms to be first across the gap.
Two men decided to steal a march upon
their fellow workmen, and one of this
twain was resolved not to share the glory
with anyone if he could help it. The only
thing was that he could not get rid of his
colleague, who clung to his side. Sud-
denly a brilliant idea occurred to him.
They had a ladder, that was just long
enough to reach across the breach if only
a rope could be obtained to lash it at one
end. The second man, all unsuspectingly,
hurried off to find a rope, but his comrade,
shouldering the ladder, laid it across the
jibs of the cranes working on the end of each
arm. It held, and he crawled across this
dangerous gangway, some 200 feet above
the water. The feelings of his companion
when he returned with the rope to find his
chum had done the deed may be imagined.

The railway tracks are laid on a viaduct
which runs through the cantilevers. There is
a double road, with a gangway
on either side for workmen. Tri«">Phant
The bridge was subjected to
severely exacting tests in February, 1890,
under direction of the Board of Trade,
from which it emerged triumphantly,
the maximvim deflection on the ends of
the cantilevers of the main spans being
only 7f inches and If inches at the central
girders. The following day a furious gale
swept the Firth of Forth, but the bridge
stood as firmly as a rock. The official
opening took place on March 4, 1890, when
King Edward VII., as Prince of Wales,
drove the last rivet in the middle of the
northern main girder.

By the time the structure had been
completed some £3,000,000 had been ex-
pended, of which the bridge

proper absorbed about Expenditure

£3,000,000.
£1,700,000, the plant and

general charges some £800,000, and the
connecting roads of railway £500,000.
Over 54,000 tons of steel were worked
into the fabric. The Inchgarvie piers sup-
port 18,700 tons, and the other two piers
16,130 tons each. To hold this mass of
steel together, about 6,500,000 rivets,
representing over 4,000 tons, were re-
quired, and 40 miles of steel plates were
used for fashioning the tubes. In addi-
tion, 740,000 cubic feet of granite masonry,
46,300 cubic yards of rubble masonry, and
64,300 cubic yards of concrete, and over
21,000 tons of cement, were utilised.
When work was in full swing an army of
5,000 men found employment, and so care-
fully were they tended, and so complete
the precautions adopted to ensure their
safety, that only fifty-seven men lost their
lives through accident.

Yet, although the bridge is sufficiently
strong to withstand a tornado, it is suscept-
ible to the insidious ravages of an implacable
enemy — corrosion. In order to frustrate
this attack the bridge has to be given a

276

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

protective coat. This task is one of some
magnitude in itself, seeing that the area
of steelwork which has to be treated ag-
gregates approximately 135 acres. The
work has been in constant progress since
the year 1883, and about three years are
required to give the whole of the fabric
one coat. In accomplishing their work the
painters use over 40,000 pounds of paint
during the year.

Seeing that the steel highway which
carries the train is continuous for a length
of 4,800 feet, there is a considerable move-
ment of the metal under the fluctuations

i'fiotogrjfh by courtesy of Mess

CREEPING OUT OVER THE WATER : THE MAIN PIER, DEC. 20. 1887.
Each arm has an overhang of 680 feet.

of temperature. The total allowance for ex-
pansion and contraction is 8 feet 4 inches,
there being four expansion joints on each
track of the cantilever sections.

For twenty-two years this wonder of
engineering ingenuity and magnificent
workmanship has withstood the stress of
heavy traffic, wind, and storm, yet not
the slightest sign of weakness has been
revealed nor a single repair effected. It
ranks still as the finest example of bridge
building ever consummated, and is one of
the few bridges in the Avorld over which the
heaviest express trains can rattle at a speed

of 69 miles or more
per hour in perfect
safety.

An attempt to
eclipse this wonder
of British engineer-
ing is being made
in Canada, with a
bridge which is to
span the River St.
Lawrence just
above the City of
Quebec ; but this
structure, taken on
the whole, will not
exceed the Scottish
work except in one
p a r t i c u 1 a r — the
length of the span.
This latest bridge
is to carry only one
set of rails, and the
train speeds are to
be restricted
severely.

From the rail-
way point of view
the Forth Bridge
has been a com-
p 1 e t e commercial
success. It is
worked and main-
tained by the North
British Railway.

ON THE STEEPEST PART OF THE RAILWAY ABOVE THE TIMBER LINE. WHERE IT RISES
1 IN 4. SHOWING THE SPECIAL TYPE OF LOCOMOTIVE.

The Pike's Peak Rack Railway

A LINE WHICH CLIMBS A MOUNTAIN 14,147 FEET HIGH

HEN, in 1806, Captain Zebulon
M. Pike first beheld from afar
the majestic proportions of
the peak which now bears his
name, rising above the dis-
hevelled mountainous knot
found in the State of Colorado,
naturally he sought to scale its topmost
heights. But his determination and en-
durance proved insufficient for the task.
This is not surprising, seeing that he was
not equipped for an exacting mountain-
eering expedition, whilst this hoary old
man of the American Rockies is no mean
crest, seeing that it beetles 14,147 feet into
the clouds.

After the conquest of the Rigi and
other Alpine crests in Europe, enterprising

Americans, resolved not to be eclipsed by
the Old World, suggested the railway
subjugation of Pike's Peak. The proposal
was startling, as this is a remarkable
mountain. It is not a mere jagged nose
of rock thrusting itself higher from its
fellows into the sky, but lifts its head
above a broad expansive plain. As a
coign of vantage its crest is difficult to
surpass in North America, because won-
derful vistas of unparalleled magnificence
are unfolded over an area of 60,000 square
miles.

From the viewpoint of the railway
engineer it possesses many attractions,
inasmuch as it not only indicates the
highest point between the two poles to
which the rack railway has been carried

278

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

for tourist purposes, but the consummation
of the task bristled with extraordinary
difficulties.

The engineer was spurred to its mastery
with the ribbon of steel by the striking
stories of beautiful panoramas which were
related by the few mountaineers who toiled
afoot to its summit. Could the requisite
financial assistance be raised to carry a
line from base to crest ? That was the
problem. There was no anxiety about
sufficient traffic being forthcoming to render
the undertaking remunerative. If the crest
were brought within the reach of the
masses, who are not prepared to experience
the hardship and peril of climbing among
ugly crags, and braving the unpropitious
elements, thousands would avail themselves
of the opportunity to proceed to the top
by rail, providing the element of safety
were above suspicion.

So reasoned an enterprising engineer in

1884. He succeeded in infusing a number

of colleagues with his enthusi-

The First d t t made. The

Scheme.

promoters of the scheme essayed

to scale the mountain with a maximum
grade of 1 in 20, and to achieve this end
plotted a circuitous route 30 miles in
length, in which distance 7,518 feet in
altitude were to be overcome, Manitou, the
starting point, being at an elevation of
6,629 feet above sea level.

The railway was forthwith commenced,
but when it had been graded a distance of
eight miles, and was ready to receive the
metals, the scheme was assailed vigorously
on technical grounds. This unexpected
criticism dried up the fount of financial
support ; the project had to be abandoned.

The triumphs of the Swiss engineers

with the rack railway and the widespread

successes, from the commer-

The Rack- j j pomf. of view that were

rail Adopted

being reaped by the pro-
vision of transportation facilities to in-
accessible heights caused the Pike's Peak
project to be resuscitated. But the new

project was vastly dissimilar from thai
originally evolved. The fathers of the
new idea decided to follow the shortest
practicable route between the base and
crest of the mountain. The maximum
gradient would be steep : that, however,
was of secondary importance, seeing that
the cog-wheel system could be adopted.

The preliminary surveys were run in
1888, the greater part of the year being
occupied in this initial task. The little
band of men spent a racking time among
the precipitous cliffs, over which they were
slung by chains to toil upon narrow ledges
scarcely wide enough to permit one to
turn round, scrambling over ragged crags,
facing biting winds, blinding snows and
lashing rains. Their physical endurance
and nerve were taxed to the utmost ;
accidents were frequent, and thrilling
escapes numerous. But they completed
their work successfully, and the sum of
their efforts showed that there were no
insuperable reasons why the two ex-
tremities of the peak should not be con-
nected by a steel link some nine miles in
length.

The surveyors emphasised one draw-
back. " There will be snow, and plenty
of it, against which to con-
tend." This factor had been Ihe ^,now

Trouble.
brought home to them with

painful reality. Banks 30 and 40 feet
in depth were by no means uncommon.
Often they had been forced to tunnel
their way through the heavy white blanket
which wreathes Pike's Peak for more than
six months in the year.

The trials and tribulations that would
confront the navvies in the higher reaches
were not exaggerated, but they were fully
indicated. The rarefied atmosphere taxes
the lungs when one is engaged in physical
exertion. On the summit the barometer
stands at about 17 inches, and water boils
at 184°, instead of 212° F. It was realised
that labour would be very exhausting,
but the promoters concluded that by

THE PIKE'S PEAK RACK RAILWAY

279

handling the men carefully this disadvan-
tage could be mitigated very appreciably.

It was decided to use the Abt rack
system, which had proved so successful
in Europe, upon the plans outlined by the
surveyors, but the apprehensions of the
timid were not overlooked. " There must
be no suspicion of danger," urged the
guiding spirit of the enterprise. " The
line must be built as strongly as possible ;
every device to ensure unquestionable
safety in travelling must be adopted regard-
less of expense, so that the most nervous
passenger may feel just as secure when
climbing up a bank of 1 in 4 as when
riding over level ground in a railway
car." This adjuration was carried out
to the letter. Nothing was left to chance ;
nothing completed in a perfunctory manner.
The Pike's Peak Railway stands among the
most substantially built lines of its class
in the world. The United States tourist
is not so familiar with mountaineering by
rail as travellers in Europe, and the idea
of crawling to a height of 14,147 feet
above sea level, while fascinating, inevitably
provoked certain misgivings in the early
days.

The railway builders started on their

task from Manitou in 1889. The first

stretch was comparatively easy, as

e it ran among the foothills, but as
the mountain flank proper was
attacked, the difficulties became greater
and greater. In the lower levels the
route threads dense timber expanses,
where the right - of - way was found
littered with huge piles of logs and trees
which had been brought to the ground
by the enraged elements. Official require-
ments stipulated for a road-bed varying
from 15 to 20 feet in width, down the centre
of which the track was laid. This is of
the standard gauge, the side rails carrying
the wheels which guide and support the
weight of the trains weighing 40 pounds
per yard. By making the road-bed the
foregoing width there is ample clearance on

either side of the coaches. The permanent
way is of the most solid description. Where
culverts were required to span some little
rivulet or creek, stone was used ; where
bridges were necessary to traverse a larger
cleft in the mountain side, steel was em-
ployed. No timber trestling whatever was
introduced. The road-bed itself is laid
upon the solid rock, and is ballasted
heavily to secure complete rigidity for the
metals, so that they may not be displaced
easily by any of the disturbing influences
of Nature, which sweep the peak con-
tinually, and which are especially severe
during the winter.

The rack-rail itself is made from the
finest Bessemer steel, with the teeth cut
from the solid mass of metal

by machines which were de- .f **ack"

/ rail.

signed and built specially for

the purpose. It is built up in lengths
of 80 inches, and varies in weight from
63 to 95 pounds per yard, or an average
of 98 tons per mile. The specifications in-
sisted that each tooth of the rack when
cut should be within one-fiftieth of an inch
of the size stipulated.

The rack-track comprises two of these
rails laid side by side centrally between
the outer metals, and set 1J inches apart.
The ladder is secured to the permanent
way by means of four bolts — two in the
centre and one at either end of each length
— to three die-forged chairs, which in turn
are bolted heavily to the sleepers. These
latter are of extra length and weight, and
are spaced more closely together than in
ordinary railway practice. The rack-rails
are so laid that the joints of each length
do not come in line, while the teeth of
one is brought opposite the space between
two teeth of the other. This ensures the
two double wheels of the locomotives
securing an even bearing at all times, and
is conducive to smooth travelling.

The railway measures 47,992 feet in
length from end to end. The average
gradient is 844-8 feet per mile, the maxi-

280

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

mum rise being 25 in 100. The sharpest rock which strewed their path, had to

curves are of 16°, that is, a radius of 358 face intense cold, and to stand or crouch

feet. In order to contribute to the rigidity against cutting winds, which at times

and solidity of the track, and to prevent sweep over this peak with tornado-like

it moving or sliding under its own weight, fury. Often they had to hew their way

A CHARACTERISTIC DEFILE ON THE PIKE'S PEAK RAILWAY BELOW THE TIMBER LINE.

which is enormous, or by the forces of
sudden expansion and contraction of the
metal, it is anchored to the solid rock at
distances ranging from 200 to 1,400 feet,
according to the severity of the gradient ;
146 of these anchors are used throughout
its entire length.

It was when the timber line was passed
that the greatest trials and hardships
in construction were encountered. The
mountain surface was scarred in a terribly
rough manner. Here projecting pinnacles,
with their sides as polished as a mirror by
the elements, had to be blown away ;
there ledges had to be cut in the side of
the solid rock-face ; enormous shoulders
had to be rounded and denies threaded.
The men engaged in the work suffered
privations innumerable. They had to
clamber and toil among ragged masses of

through solid masses of packed snow and
ice, while the stinging hail and blinding
rains repeatedly drove them to seek what
little shelter they could. Camps were laid
low time after time, and frequently, owing
to the ravages of the elements rendering
the mountain impassable, they had to
subsist on meagre fare, as the bulk of their
provisions became exhausted. Near the
summit the prevailing low temperature,
combined with the rarefied atmosphere,
played sad havoc even with the strongest
constitutions. Time after time, after fight-
ing a stern uphill battle against the relent-
less elements for hours, the men were
compelled to throw down their tools from
sheer exhaustion, and were forced to seek
a short respite in the lowlands to recuperate
their wasted energies. Notwithstanding
these heavy handicaps the last rail was

THE PIKE'S PEAK RACK RAILWAY

281

laid on October 20th, 1890, and the line
was opened for traffic on June 1st in the
following year.

As may be supposed, the engine in making
such a continuous and heavy pull towards
the clouds develops an intense thirst. The
water supply at places was a searching
problem, but it has been met effectively
by three large tanks which are provided
at intervals. The locomotives are some-
what quaint - looking, albeit powerful,
mechanical triumphs. They are of the
four - cylinder Vauclain compound type,
the high-pressure cylinders being 10 inches
and the low-pressure cylinders 15 inches
in diameter, the stroke being 22 inches.
Steam is carried in the boiler at a pressure

wheels extend four corrugated surfaces
upon which the powerful steam and hand
brakes are applied. Any one of these
brakes is sufficient to bring the train to-
a standstill, even upon the steepest sec-
tions. The Le Chatlier water-brake is
also fitted to the steam cylinders, these
being used on the descent as air com-
pressors-to regulate the speed of the train.
The coaches are of the American obser-
vation Pullman pattern, and for such a
railway are luxurious. The seats are not
tilted but arranged in such a way that
the passenger always has a level position
Each car is able to accommodate fifty
passengers, and if necessary it can descend
the mountain without the aid of the

VIEW OF THE TRACK OF THE PIKE'S PEAK RAILWAY. SHOWING THE RACK-RAIL.

of 200 pounds per square inch. There are
two steel cog-wheels through which the
propelling effort is transmitted, and which
grip, or mesh, with the rack-rail.

On such a railway, abounding with
numerous steep banks, the braking arrange-
ments necessarily are of supreme import-
ance. From the sides of the driving cog-
36

locomotive, because each bogie carries cog-
wheels engaging with the rack, through
which powerful individual braking can be
applied to secure complete control. This
enables the coach to be stopped instantly
and independently of the locomotive. As
is usual upon rack railways, the engine
pushes the coach up hill, and precedes it

282

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

on the descent, the two never being coupled
together.

Between the two terminal points there
are six intermediate stations, each of
which provides facilities for viewing some
scenic spectacle. After the timber line
is passed at 11,578 feet, the railway enters

" Snow," narrated Mr. Sells, the chief
engineer, to me, " is our greatest bugbear,
and it is of a nature seldom experienced
upon any other railway. On the upper
five miles it runs from 3 to 35 feet in
depth, and it packs as hard as masonry.
Running through the banks are stratse

';•$*'
, J^lggp;

•— '" i-*"' - -•»'. ..•• "**' * • ^ ,f • JBr ^

.7.**

^ ' 5,.x

THE CREST OF PIKE'S PEAK, 14.147 FEET ABOVE THE SEA: THE ENGINE IS ATTACHED

AS A "PUSHER,"

upon its steepest, and at the same time
the wildest part of its journey, to the
summit station, beside the Government
signal station. One very curious effect
often is observed when climbing the moun-
tain. Every inch of the road is uphill,
and yet after toiling up a steep bank, and
when about to enter a stretch of more
moderate gradient, the road ahead appears
to run downhill. The round journey — up
and down the mountain — a distance of
approximately 18 miles, occupies some
three hours.

Though innumerable obstacles had to
be overcome to bring about the realisation
of the Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway,
they are equalled fully by the herculean
efforts that have to be put forth to open
and maintain the line during the season.

of ice, representing the packing of the
heavy snows during the winter. It is
these frozen layers which tax our efforts
so severely. There is no mechanical appli-
ance which can cope with them. What
we do is to cut trenches so that the mass
is divided into blocks about 9 feet square.
These are then transferred to a flat car
by a scoop-nose plough, which we have
designed specially to deal with this work,
and pushed by one of the locomotives.
We can get two of these blocks on a car
at a time. The train with its load then
drops back along the line until it reaches
a point where the railway overlooks a
ravine. After cutting an opening through
the solid off-side wall of icy snow beside
the track, the men, by means of large
wooden levers, prise the blocks off the

THE PIKE'S PEAK RACK RAILWAY

383

deck-car to send them tumbling down the
mountain side. It is slow, trying work,
often accomplished in the face of a biting
wind, but it is the only way in which we
can get the line open for traffic.

" Above the timber line the snow drifts
easily, as there are no obstacles to its
scudding race over the mountain slopes.
In some seasons we have had to open the
line as many as fifteen times. June 1st
is the scheduled day on which the first
train runs to the summit, and as a rule
we are not troubled with snow after the
15th of that month. But occasionally we
have to haul out our snow-clearing tackle
throughout July, during which month,
sometimes, very heavy falls take place."

Despite these drawbacks, and although

the railway is open only for a very brief

period, it is a hot favourite

••Sunrise with tourists During the

Excursion."

height of the season the com-
pany maintains what it calls a semi-night
train service. One leaves the lower terminus
late in the afternoon and reaches the sum-
mit in time to witness the gorgeous spec-
tacle of the setting sun, and, spending the
night at the comfortable Summit Hotel,
is able to view the equally enthralling
dawn of another day. One of the most
popular trips is the weekly " Sunrise
Excursion," which, leaving the lower ter-
minus at midnight, lands the travellers at
the crest in time to see Old Sol creep over
the Eastern horizon. In fact, this special
service has developed to such a degree
that often the entire equipment of the
railway has to be impressed to cope with
the crowds.

Notwithstanding the complete success of
the Pike's Peak Railway, the rack system
has not been utilised very extensively in
the United States. Even the first railway
of this type, that up Mount Washington,
in New Hampshire, is doomed. Another

route has been surveyed, and it is intended
to lay down an electric road working
throughout by adhesion purely and simply.
Still, the Pike's Peak line possesses a
unique distinction. It is the longest con-
tinuous road built upon this principle in
the world. In view of the fact that the
rack railway is being superseded, at all
events for mountaineering purposes, by
cheaper systems for achieving the same
end, it is very doubtful whether this line
ever will be eclipsed.

The total cost of the undertaking was
£200,000, representing an average of £22,000

per mile, so that it ranks as

,, . , . Most Costly

one or the most expensive Rack . j

rack lines which has been
laid down in any part of the world. Since
its completion in 1890 it has been the means
of conveying thousands of travellers to the
mountain top. From the European point
of view, and bearing in mind the com-
paratively low fares charged on the Swiss
mountain rack railways, the ascent of
Pike's Peak by this medium appears some-
what expensive, the return journey costing
20s., or over Is. Id. per mile. But bearing
in mind the cost of construction, the heavy
maintenance expenses, and the brief period
of the running season, in conjunction
with the fact that it is essentially a
pleasure line, the fare is by no means
excessive.

" Since this line was opened," proudly
confesses the engineer, " we have never
had a single personal injury arising from
its operation. It cost a lot to build,
but absolute and unquestionable safety
was the factor which guided its con-
summation, so that not even the most
timid need entertain the slightest appre-
hensions. ' A substantial road ' was our
watchword, and the policy has been repaid
amply by the complete financial success
of its operation."

A BLEND OF EAST AND WEST : THE STATION AT UTARADIT.
The Oriental style of architecture is followed in the facades of the station buildings

The Railway in Siam

THIS EASTERN KINGDOM, FOR SO LONG A " SEALED BOOK," IS NOW BEING
OPENED UP TO COMMERCE BY A VAST SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS

T was not so many years ago effort to exploit the other resources of their

that the vast tract of terri-
tory, measuring 1,100 miles in
length by 506 miles in width,
which occupies a large section
of the Indo-China Peninsula,
and which is known
politically as the Kingdom of Siam, was
as closed to the handmaids of civilisation
as the South Sea Islands. The traditions,
characteristics, and customs of the coun-
try were decidedly adverse factors to
development. The natives were content to
cultivate rice, both as a staple article of
diet and also for export ; they made little

284

country. The teak forest for years went
untouched, the luscious fruits practically
rotted, while the minerals for the most
part were left dormant. At the same time
attempts to invade the country and to
turn its latent wealth to commercial ad-
vantage were fraught with considerable
dangers to Europeans. The hostility of
the natives, although pronounced at times,
was not to be feared so much as the climate
of an unopened country and the untamed
jungle, where wild animals of all descrip-
tions abounded.

The country beyond the immediate

THE RAILWAY IN SIAM

285

purlieus of Bangkok, the capital, was virtu-
ally a closed book. Even the natives them-
selves knew very little about it. The
interior means of communication were by
raft or boat along the waterways, while
the area of development in the hinterland
was restricted severely to the lower-lying
cleared land immediately contiguous to
the arteries of water travel. Primitive
bullock wagon roads had been driven here
and there to link up isolated points, but
such evidences of enterprise were few and
far between. The result was that the
greater part of the interior was nothing
but a vast stretch of undulating, matted
jungle, such as is only to be found in the
tropics, which never had been penetrated.

Towards the latter part of the nineteenth
century, however, King Chulalongkorn I.,
whose mind and view of things had be-
come broadened by his associations with
Europe, embarked upon a liberal policy
with a view to ameliorating the conditions
of his people.

His Majesty grasped the fact that the
unlocking of the country would proceed
very slowly and fitfully unless improved
ways and means of moving to and fro were
adopted. The waterways were too slow
and uncertain. Railways obviously offered
the only possible satisfactory solution to
the situation. The provision of these facili-
ties came under serious consideration about
the years 1887-8, and, through the efforts
of Sir Andrew Clarke, formerly Governor
of the Straits Settlements, a contract for
carrying out surveys for a railway system
was placed with an English firm. Extensive
surveys were driven from the capital as
far as Chieng Sen on the northern frontier.
This was an ambitious proposal, but it
was proved that the scheme offered no in-
superable difficulties, and would not be in-
ordinately costly, while it would provide
the country with a steel backbone, and
connect the capital to a strategical point
for the interchange of commerce with
Burmah, China, and Upper French Indo-

China. The Government proposed to defray
the cost of construction and upon comple-
tion to work it as a State undertaking.

Owing to their comprehensive nature,
the surveys, extending through difficult
country, occupied considerable time. Mean-
while, private enterprise, realising the trend

of affairs, determined to profit from the
favourable attitude of the Government.
The former approached the authorities for
permission to build a line from the capital
to Paknam, near the mouth of the Menam
Chao Phya. The concession was granted,
the Paknam Railway Company, Limited,
was incorporated in Bangkok, and the
construction of the road was commenced
on July 10th, 1891. It was an unpreten-
tious undertaking, comprising a line only

286

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

12f miles in length, but it was the pioneer
railway of Siam, and its opening for traffic
in 1893 was received with widespread jubi-
lation. It met with instant success, and
from the very first proved an excellent
investment to its shareholders.

It was decided to inaugurate the Govern-
ment scheme by building a line from

Bangkok to Korat. The first
The First j , , T_. „, ,

State Line. sod was turned bY King Chula-

longkorn on March 8th, 1892,
amid wild rejoicing. Inasmuch as the State
Department possessed no facilities at the
time to carry out large railway building
projects, although a department was in
course of formation, the enterprise was
handed over to a contractor to complete.

The standard gauge of 4 feet 8J inches
was adopted, and the European model was
followed as closely as the circumstances
would permit. The route ran through the
Menam River valley to Ayuthia, where it
swung sharply to the east to ascend the
Korat plateau, which varies from 400 to
1,000 feet above sea level. Work, how-
ever, did not proceed so smoothly and
rapidly as was desired, but the contractor
was handicapped somewhat by the dearth
of labour. Dependence had to be placed
almost entirely upon Chinese coolies, and
these had to be taught the mysteries of
railway grading. Probably the inability of
the contractor to cope with the labour
problem was responsible for his slow ad-
vance. At all events, after he had been
engaged some four and a half years upon
the task it Avas taken out of his hands by
the royal Railway Department.

The State engineers succeeded where the
contractor had failed, and they speeded
up the constructional work so effectively
that the first section, from Bangkok to
Ayuthia, was opened by the King on
March 25th, 1897. The engineers pushed
on along the location selected and by the
latter part of the same year had reached
Gengkoi, the half-way house to Korat.
Immediately this section was completed a

daily service of trains for both passengers
and goods was inaugurated. Without
pausing, the builders drove forward, and
so rapidly that in November, 1900, the
first State Railway was completed. Korat
was in railway touch with the capital, and
the service was extended to this point,
the length of the line being 165 miles.

Upon the completion of this eastern rail-
way the original longitudinal or Northern
Line, which British engineers had
surveyed in the late 'eighties, The
when the railway was first dis-
cussed, was taken in hand. The
Korat line, by running parallel with the
Menam River, ran northwards for nearly 60
miles. Thereupon it was decided to con-
tinue construction from a suitable point on
this railway. A station, Ban Phaji, between
Ayuthia and Prak Preo, 56J miles out of
Bangkok, was selected as the junction, and
the line was carried a further 26| miles to
Lopburi. As no particular difficulties of a
technical character were encountered upon
this section, it was completed speedily, and
opened for traffic on April 1st, 1901.

Although the Northern Railway may
be said to constitute the favourite and
greatest project of the Govern-
ment, another line had been ™e Question

... of Gauge.

commenced in the meantime.

This is the Southern Line, running west-
wards from Bangkok, via Nakonchaisi to
the Meklong River, whence it bends south-
wards, crosses the waterway, and follows
the coast through Ratburi to Petchaburi,
94f miles. Commenced in 1899, and despite
the fact that long bridges had to be thrown
over the Tachin and Meklong Rivers, this
line was opened by the King of Siam on
June 19th, 1903.

When this line was discussed the ques-
tion of gauge arose. Hitherto the Govern-
ment had decided in favour of the stan-
dard British gauge for its system, but as
the Southern Line is destined to link up
with the railways of the Federated Malay
States, which favours the narrower gauge

THE RAILWAY IN SIAM

287

of 1 metre, it was recognised that if the
broad gauge were adopted a break in the
railway journey would have to be made

ways built on the west side of the Mcnam
Chao Pliya River should be of metre gauge,
the wider, or standard, gauge being re-

THE TASK OK THE RAILWAY BUILDER IN THE SIAMESE HINTERLAND.
The track through the jungle, north of Utaradit.

at the frontier. The Siamese Government
also foresaw that, in accordance with rail-
way expansion, the opportunity to link up
with the railways in Lower Burmah would
be inevitable, and the Burmese Railways
are also of the metre gauge. Consequently,
in order to secure as smooth interworking
as possible when junctions were effected
with its two neighbours, the Government
decided to adopt the same gauge. At the
same time it was laid down that all rail-

stricted to railways built on the eastern
side of this waterway. Thus, when the
systems of the different countries meet,
through direct working will be possible
between points in Burmah, the Federated
Malay States, and Bangkok. The wisdom
of this policy cannot be overestimated,
inasmuch as it will be to the benefit of
all the countries affected, and will con-
duce to overland travelling between
Farther India and China.

288

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

A further section of the Northern Line
was now taken in hand, viz. from Lopburi
to Paknam Poh, 73f miles. In the original
scheme it was proposed to take advantage
of the river valley, but a revision was made.
A few miles to the east of the waterway

had to be increased considerably. Thi
outlook, indeed, was so promising that thi
Government decided to build a new line
running almost due east, from Bangkok t<
Petriu on the west bank of the Bang-pa
kong River, a distance of 39| miles. Thi

A TEMPORARY CONSTRUCTION BRIDGE.
The engineer's "special," showing his "saloon," drawn by a wood-fired small tank engine.

there is a large and very rich stretch of
rice-raising country, and so, for the pur-
poses of developing this territory, it was
decided to run the line straight through
the centre of this district, since there is a
rich traffic immediately available on both
sides. This was a wise decision, seeing that
rice is to Siam what wheat is to Canada
• — the staple industry of the country and
the chief source of revenue to the railway.
About this time the value of the railway
began to be felt. The original line to Korat
had been outgrown by the traffic which had
arisen. Heavy expenditure was incurred
in the enlargement of the yards at the
various stations, while the rolling stock

road runs through a rolling and highly fer
tile country, capable of rich development,
and the railway should prove highly TC-
munerative. The first section of this lint
was completed in January, 1908, while th«
same month recorded the opening foi
traffic of another stretch of the Northern
Line from Paknam Poh to Pitsanuloke.

As the Northern Line advanced farthei
and farther inland, the engineers drew to-
wards the more difficult and mountainous
country which fringes the northern hinter-
land of Siam. By hugging the east bank
of the Menam River a favourable, tolerably
easy, and cheap location was obtained
from Bangkok to Ban Dara, to which

THE RAILWAY IN SIAM

289

point the line was opened on November tions. The contract for the bridge was

llth, 1908. Hitherto expensive bridging thrown open to the world, but in the

had been eliminated ; but now, in order face of severe competition was secured by

to secure the advantages of the natural the well-known British firm, the Cleveland

BRIDGE-BUILDING IN THE SIAMESE JUNGLE.
The coolies' camp of native huts is seen below the bridge.

pathway for the steel highway to Utara-
dit, the next objective, and a place of con-
siderable importance, it became necessary
to swing across the Menam River.

As the level of this waterway fluctuates
considerably according to the wet and
dry seasons, a long bridge was necessary.
The surveys emphasised the necessity of a
structure 861 feet in length, divided into
three spans. By this arrangement the
erection of the brick piers was facilitated
during the dry season, dispensing with
elaborate plant in carrying out the founda-
37

Bridge and Engineering Company, of Dar-
lington, which, it may be recalled, has been
responsible for the Victoria Falls, Upper
Nile, and other important bridges. The
contract called for the supply of the steel-
work only, as erection was to be carried
out by the royal Railway Department.

The bridge is of the cantilever type, each
anchor arm, or shore span, being 264 feet
6 inches in length. Each anchor arm and
the pier panels were built on timber false-
work, while the overhanging section was
carried out from either pier for a distance

2QO

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

of 116 feet, bringing the length of the
main span to 332 feet.

The northern extension was completed
to Pang Tong Phung, beyond Utaradit, by
August 15th, 1909. Also a spur had been
built for 18 miles westwards from Ban
Dara to Sawankaloke, the head of naviga-
tion on the Meh Yom River. The linking

plex, decided, in April, 1909, to postpone
further advance for a time. Although
Utaradit was nominally the extreme ter-
minus, the railhead was a little distanct
beyond. Utaradit was a strategical com-
mercial centre, inasmuch as the caravans
engaged in the mountain traffic started
from here, threading the mountains bj

CANTILEVER BRIDGE OVER THE MENAM. NEAR BAN DARA. ON THE NORTHERN RAILWAY

OF SIAM.

of Utaradit, which is the most important
up-country commercial centre, with Bang-
kok constituted an historic event in the
history of the country ; indeed, the neces-
sity for such communication had been the
main reason why constructional work had
been pushed forward so vigorously on the
Northern Railway.

The Menam Plain, which is traversed by
the Northern Railway, practically ends at
Utaradit. Thence the ground rises rapidly,
and in a very broken manner, into the
mountain range. The lower slopes are
covered with an extremely dense and
matted tall-growing vegetation, so that
clearing became an expensive, difficult, and
tedious task. The authorities, recognis-
ing that work on the mountain division
therefore was certain to be heavy and com-

the Avearisome Kao Flung Pass to Phrae
This traffic formerly was very heavy, anc
the pass was a busy highway. The wagons
were supplemented by pack animals anc
carriers, these latter being engaged for th(
most part in traversing the lesser-knowr
districts, following perilously difficult trails
Transport charges were high, and onl}
goods of value could be handled, as it was
not worth while to move cheap articles bj
such means. Consequently the territorj
suffered, inasmuch as those very commo
dities for which there was the greatcsl
demand could not be taken through the
mountains over the high roads, as th<
prices were swollen by the cost of transport
to a level out of all proportion to theii
worth.

But the urgency of continuing north

THE RAILWAY IN SIAM

291

Extension
Northward.

ward became forced upon the authorities
more and more as time progressed, inas-
much as the railway was
bringing goods up country
at such cheap rates, and so
quickly, as compared with the slow water
route, that Utaradit was becoming con-
gested. Accordingly work was resumed
upon a further 12 miles from Pang Tong
Phung, at the foot of the range, to Meh
Puak, on the northern slopes, and conveni-
ent to Phrac. This broken ridge divides
the watersheds of the Menam Yai and Meh
Yom Rivers. It was no easy matter to
decide the route which should be followed
through the barrier. Each pass was inves-
tigated minutely to discover the cheapest
and most practical crossing. In addition
to driving surveys from Utaradit, others
were made along the Meh Yom River from
the head of navigation at Sawankaloke to
Muang Long, via the Muang Long and Pang
Buci Passes, while detailed surveys were
made through the Muang Li Pass between
the Meh Wang and the Meh Ping. After
the problem had been threshed out in all
its bearings, however, it was decided to
cross the ridge by way of the Kao Plung
Pass, which wras that taken by the high-
road.

Anticipations that the ridge would be
difficult to overcome were fulfilled. It
proved the most difficult sec-
tion encountered in the whole
railway building programme,
especially the first five miles
out of Pang Tong Phung. The metals had
to be lifted 600 feet in the course of the
16f miles between Utaradit and the Kao
Plung Pass. The broken character of the
mountain-sides rendered the earthworks
very heavy, and many perplexing tech-
nical difficulties had to be solved. It was
a case of cut and fill for the greater part
of the way, many cuttings and embank-
ments, running up to 85 feet in depth and
height respectively, having to be carried
out. In one stretch of 3,300 feet, just below

The Drive
Through the
Mountains.

the summit of the pass, this work assumed
such a heavy character that, in order to
avoid a cut 100 feet in depth through
a pinnacle, followed immediately by an
embankment of the same depth across a
fissure, a tunnel, 357 \ feet, was driven
through the spur, while a viaduct, 270 feet
long, was thrown across the gorge. Owing
to the water encountered, this tunnel had
to be lined with brick from end to end.

Bridging would have been adopted more
extensively upon this section but for one
restraining factor — transport

charges from the railhead ^ridging

Difficulties.

to the grade ahead. These

were so abnormally high that, when the
cost of cuttings and embankments was
compared with steel and masonry struc-
tures, such an ovenvhelming advantage in
point of cost prevailed in favour of the
earthwork that it had to be adopted,
except in exceptional cases.

The railway overcomes the Kao Plung
Pass by a tunnel 1,188 feet in length, and
about 230 feet below the wagon
road over the pass. Owing to The
trouble with water this tunnel
had to be lined throughout,
concrete being used for this purpose. The
alignment through this ridge constitutes a
striking piece of surveying, since, despite
the abrupt rise, it was found possible to
keep the maximum, gradient to 1 in 50.
Even the easiest section upon the moun-
tain division of 4£ miles between Pang
Tong Phung and the summit of the pass
is 1 in 66, while the sharpest curves have
a radius of 656 feet.

The mountain section of the Northern
Railway between Utaradit and Meh Puak
on the northern side of the pass, 24 miles,
has proved to be the most expensive to
build upon the whole of the royal Siamese
railway system. The total cost of con-
struction and equipment was £224,381,*
representing an average of £9,348 per mile.

* Reckoning the Siamese Tical at Is. 2d. British
currency.

Kao Plung
Tunnel.

292

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The total volume of earth and rock which
had to be turned and blasted amounted
to 2,220,121 cubic yards, at a cost of
£92,848 — approximately 8d. per cubic
yard.

The railway was opened as far as Meh
Puak on June 1st, 1911, and the influence

of the improved and acceler-
Influence atcd method of transit became
on Trade.

manifest immediately. On the

day the first regular train steamed over
the Kao Plung Pass every caravan run-
ning over the ridge to the Plain of
Phrae was withdrawn, leaving the field
entirely to the railway. High-road trans-
portation was unable to withstand the
competition of the new rival. Whereas the
caravans charged, on the average, Is. 10-4d.
per ton-mile, the railway was prepared to
handle the traffic at a rate from 90 to 99
per cent, cheaper. Under these conditions
some idea of the revolution in existing
trade relations wrought by the appearance
of the railway may be gathered. In fact,
it was so complete that the natives in the
interior could not grasp its import. It
intro'duced the possibility of their receiv-
ing and sending goods of a bulky nature
and of inferior value, such as never had
been possible before, owing to the high
rates charged by the caravans. Natur-
ally, under these conditions, the railway
had to embark upon a plan of campaign
to demonstrate the advantages it offered.
During the month the line was opened the
traffic, passenger and freight, which passed
through Meh Puak station aggregated
£265. Ten months later the traffic had
grown to £3,784 for the month.

The Government, however, appreciated
the fact that the utmost benefit could not
accrue from the railway facilities
until the line reached the north-
ern frontier at Chiengsen. Meh
Puak serves only one field of consump-
tion—the Plain of Phrae, but there
are several other places where trade can
be created between Meh Puak and the

To the
Frontier.

frontier, such as Muang Ngao, Chiengrai,
etc., which points at present are depen-
dent exclusively upon the costly caravan
service. Under these circumstances the
Government decided to drive the line tc
the frontier with all speed, touching all the
possible trade centres en route. On Janu-
ary 26th, 1912, the royal Railway Depart-
ment was instructed to commence the
extension of 138 miles to Chiengmai,
£991,700 being allotted for this purpose.
Work upon this section is now in active
progress.

Owing to the remarkable growth of the
railway system, the Government, in July,
1909, created a subsidiary
department for the construe-
tion of all the railways in the
Siamese Dominions in the Malay Penin-
sula, which are being built on the metre
gauge, as explained previously. The twc
departments, however, are under one
Director-General of Railways, which office
is filled by Mr. L. Weiler. It is due to the
activity and enterprise of this engineer-in-
chief, who has been well supported by His
Excellency Chow Phya Wongsa Nuprab-
hadh, Minister of Communications, that the
railway expansion of Siam has been so
rapid, and that all new works are prose-
cuted so vigorously, and I am indebted to
his courtesy for the information contained
in this description of the railway system
of the country.

The second railway department is engaged
upon a project as comprehensive and ex-
tensive as that being consum-
mated on the standard guage Bangkok to

Penang
111 other parts ot the country. _2j days.

It comprises the continuation
of the line from Petchaburi, in an almost
due southerly direction, to Bandon, and
thence to Tung Sawn. This will be an
important junction, with one branch
running westwards to Trang terminus, and
the eastern line extending to the Kelantan
boundary, via Patalung, Singora Junc-
tion, Yaleh, and Rangeh. At the frontier

BUILDING A TUNNEL ON THE MOUNTAIN SECTION OF THE NORTHERN

RAILWAY OF SIAM.

294

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

there will be connection ultimately with
the railway system of the Federated Malay
States. The direct line from Petchaburi
to the Kelantan boundary will be some
606 miles in length, while that from Petcha-
buri to Trang is estimated to be 425 miles.
Trang will be the port for Penang, which
is about 130 miles distant by sea. It is
anticipated that the train journey from
Bangkok to Trang will occupy about
eighteen hours, and then, with a 10-knot
boat from Trang to Penang, it will be
possible to complete the whole journey in
about thirty hours. Even if two and a
half days be allowed for the journey be-
tween Bangkok and Penang this will
represent a decided acceleration, since at
present the journey by sea occupies from
six to eight days.

The railway, in addition to constituting
an important direct link of communication,
will serve a population of over
1,250,000 scattered throughout
the Siamese Dominions in the
Malay Peninsula, and will open up a
vast tract of country eminently adapted
to cattle raising, paddy culture, rubber
planting, and other tropical agri-
cultural pursuits. Also, it will assist
the tin-mining, which is now carried on
in many places, as well as provide
( facilities for working the gold, wolfram,
coal, and other mineral deposits which
are said to exist throughout this terri-
tory. It will affect communication with
Europe very materially, inasmuch as it
will enable the mail service to be accele-
rated, via Trang and Penang, by three or
four days. The benefits which are certain
to accrue from the linking together of the
Siamese and Federated Malay States rail-
ways, too, cannot be estimated.

The Siamese Government has not failed
to realise the economic and industrial sig-
nificance of this southern railway, and is
resolved to complete it with all possible
speed to Trang. Construction southwards
from Petchaburi was commenced in Sep-

tember, 1909, and has been pushed for-
ward vigorously ever since. The grade is
being attacked from three

points simultaneously — the L.u* f

J _ Extensions.

existing railhead, Singora,

and Trang. It is already available for
traffic as far as Ban Hua Hin, 39 miles
from Petchaburi, and it is anticipated that
Trang will be in railway touch with Bang-
kok by the year 1915. It is being built
departmentally under the direction of the
Minister of Ways and Communications,
and it is expected that the total cost of
the undertaking will amount to £3,383,500.
The provincial authorities in the territory
served are fully alive to the important
part the railway is destined to play in
the development of the Siamese peninsula,
and throughout this country great activity
is being displayed in the building of roads
to connect outlying towns with the rail-
way. They are being built upon substan-
tial lines, with bridges of heavy construc-
tion, so as to be available for motor traffic.

Although the State is carrying out the
works of first magnitude, private enter-
prise is not stifled. Concessions for narrow
gauge lines have been, and are, granted
to private interests, mostly for connect-
ing isolated districts with the existing
railway, or to serve as feeders. Up to
date 66J miles of private lines are in
operation.

The rapid and complete growth of the
railway in such a country as Siam
is remarkable. Seeing that

twenty vears ago the country [?ap .

r J * Developments.

possessed only 12£ miles of

line, the construction of 693 miles in two
decades, and bearing in mind the local con-
ditions, is astonishing. Of this total 639
miles belong to, and are operated by, the
Government, which has a further 520
miles in course of construction, and over
600 additional miles sanctioned. From the
point of view of the State the railways
are proving a first-class investment. Dur-
ing the Siamese year 130 (April, 1911-12)

THE RAILWAY IN SIAM

295

the net profit, after making a deduction
for the Renovation Fund — renewals, etc.
—amounted to £152,801 15s. 2d., corre^
spending to 4-26 per cent, upon the capital
outlay of £3,584,583 6s. 8d.

The railway is substantially constructed,

of increasing traffic. The gangers are pro-
vided with permanent-way huts, placed at
frequent intervals, while a telegraph line
and signalling facilities are installed. While
timber has been utilised for the smaller
bridges, such are only temporary, being

the standard being somewhat heavier upon replaced in steel as soon as possible.

A SINGLE SPAN BRIDGE OVER THE KLONG THA LAW, ON THE NORTHERN RAILWAY, SIAM
The span is 263 feet. On the river are some of the quaint craft by which transportation was effected

before the railway was built.

the broad than upon the narrow gauge.
The permanent way is ballasted with
broken stone and gravel, with the rails laid
upon sawn wooden sleepers. The stations,
in the first instance, are of light wooden
construction, except in the case of im-
portant points, where permanent buildings
in masonry are provided. As the traffic
develops, however, the intermediate sta-
tions are overhauled and improved. A
siding is provided, this accommodation
being extended according to the exigencies

Culverts are carried out in concrete, while
ferro-concrete is used for pipe-culverts of
24 inches diameter.

Owing to the substantial construction
of the embankments and cuttings, little
damage is inflicted upon the permanent
way by the torrential rains and floods,
which are experienced at certain periods
of the year. On the mountain section
between Pang Tong Phung and Meh Puak
traffic was interrupted for three days only
during the year 130 by slips in the deep

296

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

cuttings. On the Southern Line there was
an interruption of twelve days' duration
in, the same year, as the rains caused
heavy damage to the banks and bridges
between Rathburi and Petchaburi.

The natives appreciate the provision of
the steel highway in a manner differing from
that intended. It is far easier for walking
along than the primitive trails and up-
country high-roads, and in many cases offers
a short cut. Accordingly they are dis-
posed to make avail of the track, but to
their own danger, as events from time to
time have proved. One or two pedestrians
have been caught unawares, especially dur-
ing stormy weather, by trains approach-

ing from behind, and have been killed.
At the same time, one scarcely would
consider the metals an ideal couch for a
nap. Yet such is the case. More than one
wanderer has been run over while asleep.
This tendency, however, is not confined to
strangers or trespassers, because only a
short while ago the driver of an up-
country train on the Northern Line while
making speed suddenly felt a disconcert-
ing jolt. He pulled up and went back to
ascertain the cause of the unusual vibra-
tion. To his surprise, he found that he
had run over and killed a permanent-way
coolie while fast asleep with his head pil-
lowed on the rail.

A TYPICAL UP-COUNTRY STATION IN SIAM.
Showing a water tank, pumping plant and the administration buildings.

THE ALBULA VIADUCT.

Photograph by A. /;. ll'thrli, Zurich.

The Most Wonderful Narrow Gauge
Railway in the World

HOW THE RHAETIAN RAILWAY CONQUERED THE ALPS

S a rule, the average individual
A regards and uses the railway

•*"*• purely as a means of passing
from here to there in the
shortest possible time and with
the minimum of personal in-
convenience, either in the in-
terests of business or pleasure. But there
is one railway which is patronised by the
traveller because it differs in every respect
from anything else over which he has
journeyed ; because it is a maze of twists
and turns, of lofty bridges and spidery

viaducts, of wonderful tunnels and devices
for dodging the dreaded avalanche. This
is the system comprised under the official
title of the Rhaetian Railway. No visitor
to the Swiss Highlands of the Grisons omits
to take a trip over this line. Why ?
Certainly the panoramas unfolded from
the carriage windows would be difficult
to excel for variety, sublimity, and beauty,
even in the Playground of Europe. And
yet it is not Nature unadorned which is
so much appreciated as man's triumph
over Nature.

297

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The Grisons probably constitute the
most tumbled corner of a wonderfully
mountainous country. The clusters of
peaks, crowned by magnificent glaciers,
tower to 13,124 feet, and are broken up
by over 150 valleys, mere rifts through

SKETCH MAP OF THE RHAETIAN RAILWAY
BETWEEN BERGUN AND FREDA.

which savage torrents and boisterous water-
falls tumble and foam. Again, the altitude
of these valleys varies startlingly. The
Rhine Valley, near Chur, lies at the com-
paratively low level of 1,969 feet above
the North Sea, but the Avers Valley, the
highest depression in Europe in which
agricultural activity may be seen, and
where there are apparently sleepy but
busy villages, is 5,920 feet higher among
the clouds.

It was when the railway era dawned that

the awakening of the Grisons came. The
introduction of George Stephenson's in-
vention into Switzerland prompted many ]
schemes for opening up the Rhaetian Alps.l
Among these was an idea for running a 1
main steelway through the Canton to
carry the bulk of the traffic between I
north and south ; but, the St. Gotthard i
tunnel and railway obtaining the greater
support, the trans -Rhaetian was forced
into the background.

Although the Canton of the Grisons
was denied the great trunk highway, those
interested in railway development did not
despair. They determined to carry out
a comprehensive inter-cantonal railway
building programme. Such a move was
vital to the interests of the Grisons, and
it was mainly through the untiring efforts
of Herr W. J. Holsboer, the founder of the
world-famous health resort of Davos, that
the present railway system intersecting
the Canton was laid.

Yet many years passed before Herr
Holsboer's dreams came within measurable
distance of fulfilment. True, a line was
built from Rorschach to Chur, through
the Grisons territory, but the true railway
development of the Canton dates from
the year 1888, when the 'construction of
the Landquart and Davos Railway Was
commenced. When this scheme was taken
in hand the question of gauge arose.
Certain interests advocated the British stan-
dard gauge to bring the line into harmony
with the Federal system, and to facilitate
the interchange of traffic, but the engineers
pointed out that such a procedure, owing
to the physical characteristics of the
country to be threaded, would enhance the
cost of construction to a prohibitive figure.
On the other hand, a substantial line of
1 metre gauge (3'28 feet) could be built
just as solidly at a much -cheaper figure,
and produce results equally as remunera-
tive. The cold facts and figures of the
engineers carried the day ; the narrow
gauge was adopted. Only one mistake

MOST WONDERFUL NARROW GAUGE RAILWAY 299

was made. This was the introduction of
a gradient rising 1 in 22-2, between Land-
quart and Klosters. This stretch was opened
on October 9th, 1889, and as it is worked by
adhesion purely and simply, it constitutes
a remarkable piece of road.

This section, though comparatively short
— 20 i miles — serves to convey some idea
of the technical difficulties involved in
meshing the Grisons in a net of steel.
Klosters is 2,187 feet above Landquart,
so that the length of maximum grade is
heavy, especially upon the 7 miles between
Kublis and Landquart. The mountain
flanks, torn and humped, demanded heavy
bridging and tunnelling, as well as big
cuts and side-hill excavation. This initial
scheme was completed in 1890, the railway
being opened for traffic to Davos on June
21st, the 31 miles having cost £340,000.

In 1894 the Landquart and Davos
Narrow Gauge Railway Company, which
had been incorporated to corn-
Masonry , t thi undertaking, and
Bridges. J . fe>

had secured concessions to

continue to Chur and Thusis, was reor-
ganised under the title of the Rhaetian
Railways, and the extensions were taken
in hand without delay. The experience
gained in connection with the first section
proved of inestimable value in drawing up
the specifications for all future construc-
tional work. As it was realised that the
maximum gradient of 1 in 22-2 was far
too heavy for economical working by
adhesion, and the introduction of the
rack-rail being regarded with disfavour, it
was decided to ease the heaviest gradient
upon future lines to 1 in 28'5. This
decision enhanced the extent of the develop-
ment work in the tight corners, but it was
conceded that a little extra mileage in order
to preserve the grade would be preferable
to excessively steep banks and limited train
loads. At the same time it was decided,
from sesthetical considerations, to carry
out all bridges and viaducts in masonry
in preference to steel. The latter certainly

was the cheaper medium, but the stone
was deemed preferable as it would reduce
the marring of the landscape to the
minimum. Accordingly, except in very
few instances, stonework has been em-
ployed exclusively for such structures.

Although Davos was the terminus of the
initial enterprise, it was decided to extend
the line southwestwards to Filisur. This
link is only about 12 miles in length, but
it proved somewhat costly — £217,600, or
approximately £18,133 per mile. This arose
from the heavy bridging and tunnelling
which was found unavoidable in order to
keep within the maximum grade of 1 in 28'5
and minimum curvature of 395 feet radius
which were established in such a cramped
valley as that of the Landwasser. The
Ziige, as the gorge is called, is very wild
and rugged, and the engineers were forced
to swing from side to side over the foaming
waterway in order to take advantage of
a convenient location. A considerable pro-
portion of tunnelling was preferred to an
open-air alignment, in order to escape the
ravages of the avalanche. During the
early spring the snow movements are
terrific, and on several occasions serious
delays have an; en from the line becom-
ing blocked by slides. On the post road,
which practically parallels the railway, and
which is swept just as severely, many fatal
accidents have occurred from this cause.

The bridging compels attention owing to
its bold character. Near Brombenz the
railway swings over both the

river and the post road by ™e,, ^iesen

J Viaduct.
means of a viaduct 147-6 feet

in length, and 75'4 feet in height. But the
most striking work of this character is the
Wiesen Viaduct, spanning the Landwasser
at a height of 289 feet. This is a magnificent
work, 689 feet from end to end, comprising
six openings, each of 66 feet, and a parabolic
arch over the gorge, 180 feet clear in the
span, thereby rendering it one of the largest
stone bridges in Europe.

The railway from Landquart to Chur,

AN AMAZING EXAMPLE OF ENGINEERING

The line enters the upper tunnel portal at right and makes a spiral turn in the mountain to emerge from the lower

windings gains the opposite

Fhotegrapk by A. G. tf'ehrli, fcitclibitrg, Zurich.

ON THE RHAETIAN RAILWAY.

entrance. It then describes a loop to double upon and under the higher level, and continuing i,

side of the ravine.

302

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

and thence on to Thusis, the concessions
for which had been obtained by the original
company, were completed. Owing to the
easier configuration of the land this section
of 25-8 miles did not offer any great diffi-
culties to the engineer, and was completed
for £280,000. The minimum radius of 328
feet for curves which had been adopted
on the first line was followed, but the
maximum grade was kept down to 1 in 40.
When Thusis was reached it was decided
to push on to St. Moritz and Pontresina,
thus bringing the original

Extension to idea— namely, to provide a
St. Moritz. ''

narrow gauge steel highway

through the Canton to link up with the
lines running to Italipn points — within easy
distance of consummation. The Confeder-
ation assisted this enterprise by the grant
of a subvention, because, the benefits accru-
ing to the community by the provision
of this alpine railway to Italy being far-
reaching, such State assistance was con-
sidered advisable in the public interests.

The engineers pointed out that the
connection of St. Moritz to Thusis by
38'34 miles of railway would
be exceeding^ costly, even on
the narrow gauge, and that
it would bristle with teasing technical
problems. The plotters proposed to follow
the only available pathway. This was the
tortuous rift through which flows the
Albula River, and after which, indeed,
this line is named. The greatest and most
trying piece of work would be the boring
of the Summit Tunnel, some 4 miles in
length, which could not be avoided. Seeing
that a tunnel of this magnitude would not
be undertaken lightly on a standard gauge
trunk road, it is not surprising that the
project was discussed at great length
before a metal was laid a yard beyond
Thusis. However, minute investigation of
the territory to be traversed failed to
reveal a practicable alternative route, and
so the project, including the tunnel, was
attacked boldly. It was found impossible

Tunne

to secure an easier maximum gradient
than 1 in 28'6, and although the minimum
curvature was set down at 395 feet radius,
the engineers were forced to describe
sharper curves of 328 feet radius at one
or two points, owing to lack of space in
which to complete the easier loop.

The Albula Railway is essentially a
mountain railway. It commences its
meandering up-hill toil directly it leaves
the station at Thusis, crawling at 20 miles
an hour over the stiffest banks of 1 in 40,
which prevail to Filisur. The tree-clad
forest slopes tumble abruptly into the
gorge forming the river's passage, and at
places the rift narrows down to such a
degree that the train is forced from one
cliff to the other, while, where the declivities
are so steep as to preclude the blasting of
a shelf or the widening of a ledge of rock
to carry the metals, the line is driven
through the shoulders and humps. The
tunnels individually are of short length,
but in the total of 38*34 miles they represent
no less than 33,350 feet exclusive of the
great Albula Tunnel. Owing to the soft
character of the rock, as well as the per-
colation of water, the cost of tunnel con-
struction was inflated by the necessity of
having to make recourse to lining, it being
found possible to leave only 7,892 feet of
tunnelling in the condition left by the
rock-borers' tools. The result was that,
taken on the whole, these small tunnels
cost approximately £5 per lineal foot to
drive.

The bridging is no less impressive. The
Solis Ravine is one of the most wildly
picturesque canyons in the
country, and the single arch

The Solis
Bridge.

bridge which carries the post
road over the torrent below is one of
the most popularly favoured spots in the
Grisons. This bridge, which has com-
manded such widespread attention from
its daring character, has been eclipsed by
the structure which carries the railway
across the rift. The main arch, of 138 feet

MOST WONDERFUL NARROW GAUGE RAILWAY 303

clear span, springs from either cliff face,
wherein the abutments have been bedded,
bringing the metals 292 feet — 3 feet higher
than the Wiesen Bridge on the Davos line
•—above the water.

Approaching Filisur the Albula valley
becomes more and more contracted. While
the torrent thunders and lashes along its
;floor, the railway, ever ascending, hugs
a level high up on the mountain face,
to offer many fascinating evidences of en-
gineering resource. Among these is the
Schmitten-Tobel masonry viaduct, 449 feet
long, by 115 feet in height, carried upon
seven arches, each of 49
feet span in the clear.
Then the railway dives
through a short tunnel to
emerge from a precipitous
cliff upon the Landwasser
Viaduct. The sudden emer-
gence from the darkness
of the tunnel apparently
into mid-air is startling, as
this viaduct with six spans
of 66 feet, giving a total
length of 426 feet by 213
feet in height, provokes
a curious sensation, which
is by no means alleviated
upon observing that it is
set upon a curve of 328
feet radius, the minimum,
on the railway. The sit-
uation is extremely wild,
and conveys a stirring
impression of the rugged
country threaded by this
railway. Although the
viaduct occurs at a point
where the line rises 1 in
40, as a compensation to
the extremely sharp curve
the bank is flattened to 1
in 50 over the viaduct.

The second section of the
Albula Railway extends
from Filisur to Bevers, 19|

miles. This is the most interesting part of
the whole system, inasmuch as it not only
includes the Albula Tunnel but also offers
some wonderful examples of engineering
prowess, more particularly between Bergun
and Preda. Furthermore, the gradient be-
comes heavier, being almost a continuous
climb at 1 in 28'6 from Filisur to Preda,
at the mouth of the Albula Tunnel, so that
the travelling speed of the train up the
banks is restricted to about 11 miles per
hour.

As the crow flies Preda is about 7 miles
from Filisur, while the former lies 2,324 feet

THE LANDWASSER VIADUCT.

213 feet in height, 426 feet long, set on a curve of 328 feet radius
and a gradient of 1 in 40.

304

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

above the latter. As it was impossible to the permanent way, straggling ramparts oi

overcome this heavy difference in levels, stone, resembling the crumbling fragments

by means of the maximum gradient, in a of castles and fortifications of a long distant

direct line, the railway plotters had to past may be descried high above. These

resort to heavy development work in the are the defences against the snow and rock

Photograph by A. G. ll'ehrli, Kikhberp, Zurich.

THE WIESEN VIADUCT. 689 FEET LONG. OVER THE LANDWASSER RIVER.
The central arch has a clear span of 180 feet, and the metals are 289 feet above the waterway.

form of loops, spiral tunnels, and so forth,
thereby increasing the distance by the
railway to 11 miles between the two points.
The first evidence of this ingenuity is
offered by the Griefenstein spiral, which
lifts the line a matter of 121 feet. This
comprises a big loop, 3,937 feet in length,
with a spiral tunnel 2,290 feet long. By
this means the line gains and hugs a
precipitous slope, 492 feet above the floor
of the valley. As the railway here is ex-
posed to rock slides, it is protected against
sudden descents of loose boulders and
debris by massive masonry walls. In
fact, at various places along the railway,
where the flanks sheer up abruptly from

slides which, but for such precautionary
measures, would menace the safety of the
slender link of communication at those
periods of the year when such move-
ments are to be expected. Indeed, when
the line first was built between Stuls and
Bergun it followed an open alignment after
emerging from the Bergunstein Tunnel, but
became imperilled by a dangerous landslip.
Fearing that the track might be over-
whelmed and destroyed one day, precipi-
tating possibly a terrible disaster, the rail-
way engineers suggested carrying it farther
into the mountain side through a tunnel.
The railway authorities, appreciating the
suggestion, sanctioned the deviation, and

Photograph by A. G. U'ehrii, Kikhburg, Zurich.

THE SOLIS VIADUCT.
Spanning the Solis Ravine, through which runs the Albula River, 292 feet below.

3°6

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

thereupon the Glatscheras Tunnel, 1,090
feet long, was driven, so as to compass
the danger spot.

From Bergun to Freda direct, along the

valley, is a matter of only 4 miles, but by

rail it is 7'8 miles, and in

A Tortuous this distance the train climbs

Line.

1,365 feet. Owing to the start-
ling twists and turns of the train in
ascending the valley, it is difficult for a
passenger to retain his bearings, as he
appears to box the compass during his
journey. The wonderfully clever align-
ment and development works may be
grasped more comprehensively by a perusal
of the diagram on p. 298 of the railway
between Bergun and Preda. Leaving Ber-
gun station the railway, after crossing the
Tuors Bach, runs almost due south for
some distance, until by means of a huge
loop, part of which is in the God Tunnel,
it is swung northwards until it almost
regains, the Tuors Bach. The introduction
of another loop, also partly in a tunnel,
serves to reverse it once more, and it runs
southwards again, crossing itself above the
God Tunnel, to Muot Siding. Just before
the latter point is reached the railway
plunges through what seems to be a tunnel
perched on a crag, with openings on the
western side, through which glimpses
of the valley may be seen. This is the
Chanelletta avalanche gallery. For a dis-
tance of 383-76 feet the track has been
enclosed in the masonry counterpart of a
timber snowshed. At this spot the loca-
tion is so exposed to such tremendous snow
slides that nothing short of a masonry
structure could be expected to withstand
their onslaughts.

After leaving Muot Siding the railway

swings across the Albula River to describe

almost a complete circle in the

An Rugnux Tunnel, 2,235-5 feet

Unexpected . .

Spring. trom end to end. The driving

of this burrow perplexed the
builders sorely. The unexpected was en-
countered in the form of a spring of cold

water, the temperature of which was only
39 degrees Fahr., and it played havoc with
the health and endurance of the navvies.
This inundation assumed such significance
that many months elapsed before it was
mastered sufficiently to enable the borers
to resume their task.

Leaving the mountain's heart, the rail-
way bends somewhat to the south, re-
crosses the Albula, and thence reveals
the most wonderful piece of work on the
whole system. This is the double spiral
tunnel. The railway suddenly dives into
the mountain flank, practically making a
circle, which for 1,611 feet lies in the Toua
Tunnel. When the line has regained the
point where it enters the mountain, but
some distance above, it darts across the
river and completes a large semi-circular
loop on the opposite bank. Recrossing the
river it disappears again into the mountain
through the Zuondra Tunnel for 1,576 feet,
wherein it makes another corkscrew ascent,
The most curious feature is that this second
tunnel partially overlaps the Toua Tunnel,
though some distance above it. Some
idea of the extent to which the difference
in level is overcome by this unique work
may be gathered from the fact that in this
series of loops the metals are lifted over
160 feet in less than 1J miles.

The crowning achievement of this rail-
way, however, is the Albula Tunnel, the
northern portal of which faces
Preda station. It burrows at
a depth of 2,992 feet beneath
the summit of the Giumels mountain for a
distance of 19,242 feet, and easily ranks as
the longest narrow gauge railway tunnel
in the world. The bore was commenced
in October, 1898. But the rock-hogs had
not penetrated very far into the heart of
the crest before troubles and difficulties
innumerable were encountered. The head-
ings ran through soft stone and dolomite
sand, and so many underground springs
were tapped that the workings were in
danger of being flooded. The navvies

MOST WONDERFUL NARROW GAUGE RAILWAY 307

toiled valiantly in the effort to reach the
denser rock beyond, but the water got the
upper hand. For fifteen months advance
on the northern face was interrupted, the
engineers striving might and main to devise
some means of coping with this enemy. At
last they succeeded, and the navvies got
beyond the danger spots. When the solid
granite was reached, the ponderous Brandt
rock drills, which make short work of the
densest material, were brought up. A
battery of three of these implements were
kept chugging upon the rock face at either
end, and by their aid the rock-hogs suc-
ceeded in notching an average daily advance
of 19'3 lineal feet, and they maintained
it to such excellent effect that on May
29th, 1902, the two headings, driven from
either side of the mountain, met. The
crest was conquered. In this self-same
year the tunnel-builders accomplished a
magnificent achievement by finishing 9,840
feet of the bore. Owing to the geological
formation through which the tunnel was
driven, heavy lining had to be adopted,
though the granite stretch remains as the
chisels left it. By the time the work
was finished £282,000 had been spent—
£14 12s. 8d. per lineal foot.

The railway enters the tunnel from Preda

at 1 in 100 to the centre, which marks the

summit level of the Albula Rail-

5,998 feet way> 5)998 fcet above sea level.

the Sea. Thence it descends towards
Spinas at 1 in 500. The train
occupies about ten minutes in passing
through the bore, in which the temperature
is about 61 degrees Fahr. After leaving
Spinas the line falls steadily towards Bevers,
about 1J miles beyond. Thence the third
section of the railway extends to Samaden,
where it bifurcates, one branch running to
St. Moritz, and the other to Pontresina.

From Pontresina the Bernina Electric
Railway runs to Tirano, a distance of
about 37| miles. This railway is likewise
of metre gauge, with a summit level of
5,369 feet above sea level in the Bernina

Pass. As it traverses very broken country
the differences in levels are often very
abrupt. On the north side the

climb of 1,071 feet has to be How the

... ,. Avalanche

overcome within a distance of is Av0jded.

13f miles, while on the south
side it falls 4,760 feet in the 23f miles
between the Bernina Hospice and Tirano.
Under such circumstances the grades on
this side are very severe, the maximum
being 1 in 14-28, while the curves are as
sharp as 147'6 feet radius. Here and there
the development works are of an imposing
character in order to overcome a sudden
falling away of the ground, the curve at
Brusio being especially noticeable. The
perils of the avalanche at exposed points
on steep mountain declivities were not
ignored, but were avoided by driving short
tunnels, of which there are thirteen, the
longest being the Charnadura of 1,666 feet
and the Grum of 714 feet respectively.

Three-phase current of 7,000 volts at
50 cycles per second is supplied from
the Brusio electric generating
station. It is transmitted at Braking
25,000 volts over high tension ments.
conductors to four sub-stations
distributed along the railway, where it is
transformed into direct current, and stepped
down to 750 volts, at which pressure it is
fed to the trains. Owing to the severity of
the gradients the trains are fitted with four
braking systems, including the Hardy air
brake, and electro-magnetic brake acting
upon the rails. Despite the constructional
difficulties encountered the railway was
completed in four years, being opened for
traffic during the summer of 1910.

The Rhaetian Railway is contemplating
conversion from steam to electrical work-
ing. The locomotive equip-
ment at present used varies Locomotives,
from Mallet duplex (2-4-4-0)
and 0-4-4-0 tanks with running weights
varying from 36'9 to 43'6 tons, two
cylinder four coupled compounds, and
2-8-0 engines with tenders, the latter

308

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

having superheaters and weighing 47 tons
ready for the road.

Although the Rhaetian Railway at present
has a mileage of 123'7 miles open to traffic,
extensions are in course of construction.
One of these is that from Reichenau to
Ilanz, where a piece of development work
compares with anything to be found any-
where else on the system. This is where
the line runs through the Flims Landslip in
the Vorder-Rhine Valley. The side of this
depression is very precipitous but unstable,
inasmuch as it is composed of rubble and
debris brought down and broken up by the
great slide, while further detritus is piled
up by subsequent falls of loose material.
To save the line from burial the engineers
have either introduced a trench between
the grade and the cliff, into which the

rocks may drop, or have struck out boldly
to reclaim the land which has been eaten
away by the river itself by throwing up
huge dykes to force the water back and
to preserve the permanent way from
erosion.

One might be disposed to include this
railway in the category of " toy railways,"
a term often extended to those lines of less
than the British standard gauge. But it is
not a toy railway by any means. It is
built just as massively and as substantially
as its bigger rivals, and to-day is reckoned
among the important lines upon the Euro-
pean continent. This contention is sup-
ported by the fact that it is admitted into
the European railway time-table confer-
ences, and is the only system of its gauge
to receive such recognition.

Photograph by Cltarks Metsier. Zurich.
THE CHANELLETTA GALLERY.

It is 383| feet long, and is massively built in masonry to protect the line from avalanches.

EXTERIOR OF THE CABIN CONTAINING THE 360-LEVER MACHINE CONTROLLING ALL TRAIN
MOVEMENTS TO AND FROM THE UPPER LEVEL.

Signalling Without Seeing the Trains

ONE OF THE MOST MARVELLOUS SIGNALLING INSTALLATIONS IN THE WORLD

NTIL the Pennsylvania Railroad
laid tubes under the Hudson
River so as to carry its metals
from the New Jersey shore
into New York City, the only
trunk system which had its
terminus in the capital of
the Empire State was the New York
Central and Hudson River Railroad.
This strategical advantage was secured by
entering the city from the north, thereby
avoiding the wide, busy waterways which
wash the projecting spit of rock known as
Manhattan Island.

The builders of this railway plotted their
line and terminus facilities for their day ;
they gave no thought to the exigencies of
the future. Three times the Grand Central
station, as this terminus is called, has had
to be built in order to keep pace with the
growth of traffic. The present structure
was completed in 1912, and to-day ranks
as one of the largest terminals in the world.
When this work was taken in hand it
became necessary to increase the number
of roads so as to accommodate the traffic.
Land being costly, they could not be laid
upon the surface, as in the previous station ;

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

310

nor could they all be disposed upon one
level, except at a prohibitive outlay.
Accordingly it was decided to distribute
the sets of rails upon two levels, in order
to meet the terminal situation most effec-

congest traffic, inasmuch as the whole of
the business has to pass in and out of
New York over four roads — two up and
two down. This bottleneck affected the
capacity of the terminus very severely, so

tively. The upper level, which is 34 feet that by the time the new works were taken

EXTERIOR OF ONE OF THE UNDERGROUND INTERLOCKING STATIONS.
Above this cabin on the street level is a 12-floor skyscraper.

below the street, carries twenty-nine tracks,
while the lower level, 55 feet beneath the
public thoroughfares, has twenty-two roads.
The whole of these fifty-one tracks are pro-
vided for the convenience of passengers,
mail and baggage. In addition, there are
sixty -two other pairs of rails for the storage
of electric locomotives and trains. Pre-
viously the trains had to be backed out
of the station, and hauled a distance of
five miles to Mott Haven Junction yards,
where sidings were provided for their
accommodation. Such a necessity not only
represented a heavy aggregate of unre-
munerative haulage, but also served to

in hand not another train could be squeezed
into the daily service.

By providing the terminal station with
platforms at two different depths below the
street level, the railway solved an abstruse
problem very completely. The upper level
is roofed over and covered with streets and
huge buildings. Altogether there are 79
acres of sidings and lines provided beneath
the imposing hotels, boarding-houses, offices
and stately thoroughfares surrounding the
Grand Central station. As may be realised,
owing to this system, the lines are com-
pletely hemmed in, especially those on the
lower level, which are flanked on either side

SIGNALLING WITHOUT SEEING THE TRAINS 311

by massive steel columns supporting, not
only the tracks of the upper level, but also
the various buildings above which vary
from eight to twenty-three stories in height.

Under such conditions the task of laying
out a complete signalling system so as to
guard the 113 different roads was intricate
and complex, while the situation and con-
struction of the interlocking stations was
even more complicated, inasmuch as the
conditions rendered it impossible to see
the trains arriving or departing from the
main line connections.

The solution of the signalling problem

forms one of the most outstanding features

of the Grand Central station,

The Largest while, undoubtedly, it consti-
Interlocking . ., ,

Station tutes one of the most marvel-

lous installations among the
railways of the \vorld. The all-electric sys-
tem was adopted as being that which would
meet all requirements most completely and
efficiently, and this is the largest lay-out
in the world to be operated in this manner.
Moreover, the interlocking station on the
lower level is one of the largest which ever
has been built, as it carries 400 levers, each
of which operates a point or a signal.
Altogether, there are five interlocking
stations manipulating 238 sets of points
and crossings, and 570 signals, to control
the 1,200 train movements which are made
during every twenty-four hours.

In order to grasp the full significance of
the signalling arrangements it is necessary
to gain some idea of the dis-
The Tracks, position of the tracks between
the bottleneck and the
station. All the various lines ramifying in
all directions converge into the two up and
two down roads at a point about 5 miles
outside the terminus. These four tracks
run partly through tunnel and over elevated
structures for about 3| miles. At this point
they spread out like a double fan to form
the upper and lower levels respectively.
The first-named handles the whole of the
long-distance traffic, while the last-named

is devoted to the suburban and local busi-
ness. At this point the four roads are
resolved into ten tracks, four connecting
with the lower, and six with the upper,
level, and here is the first, or A, interlocking
station. About three-quarters of a mile
nearer the terminus on the lower level is
the B interlocking station, which contains
the 400 levers. This station controls all the
movements on the lower level, since here
the four tracks are multiplied into twenty-
two roads. Above this box, on the upper
level, is the C cabin, which controls all the
movements on the upper level over the
passenger, mail, and baggage tracks. About
150 feet beyond C and on the same level
is the fourth, or D cabin, whereby all the
storage trains arc handled, while about a
quarter of a mile beyond signalling-box B,
on the lower level, is the fifth, or E, inter-
locking station.

The local trains, instead of coming to
dead ends as in the ordinary terminus,
swing round a big oval loop, so that, after
discharging their passengers, they can, if
required, pass round to the storage yard
until their next turn of duty arrives. The
consequence is that there is no congestion
in the station ; the bottleneck is left free
for the handling of remunerative traffic.

As the whole of the cabins are placed
underground, and the range of vision is
limited very severely, a sig-
nalling system differing from The Director.
that generally practised had
to be adopted. In each cabin there is a
director or general manager of the train
or interlocking movements. He has nothing
to do with the handling of the levers. His
sole duty is to receive and to pass on the
trains. His desk is provided with a tele-
phone and telegraph, while in front of him
are mounted diagrams showing all the roads,
points, crossings, station platforms and
station tracks under his jurisdiction. Facing
him is a chart, on the ground-glass face of
which is indicated a facsimile of the tracks.
Within the case, and behind the ground-

312

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

THE INTERIOR OF THE LOWER LEVEL INTERLOCKING STATION. SHOWING LEVER FRAME.

This machine, 55 feet underground, contains 400 levers, and the roads which it controls cover 23

acres of ground. The lever-men merely pull the levers called out by the director.

glass, are small electric lights, indicating
all the points and crossings. As a train
passes over a set of points the corresponding
light on the chart is extinguished, and is
not relighted until the train has passed
over the crossing on to the succeeding one.
Thus the director, by glancing at his chart,
can detect instantly the precise position of
the trains upon the roads under his control.
The points and signals are interlocked, so
that no error on the part of the operator
can set a signal or points in a conflicting
manner. Both must agree, thereby assuring
the safety of the train. The electric lights
on the chart are controlled automatically
by the train itself through relays operated
by alternating current track circuits.

The ordinary type of semaphore signal
is utilised, and at danger occupies the
normal horizontal position. When the con-
trolling lever in the cabin is moved, the
small electric motor whereby the sema-
phore is actuated moves the arm upward
to indicate " line clear." When the lever
is pushed back, the semaphore drops by
gravity to the danger position. This
arrangement has the additional advantage
that, should any failure occur in the
electric system, the arm must fall to the
danger position, notwithstanding that the
line may be clear.

The signal-operating system is entirely
in the hands of the director. Notification
of an incoming train is given first by tele-

SIGNALLING WITHOUT SEEING THE TRAINS 313

graph from the mouth of the bottleneck,
5 miles distant. The director of tower A
prepares to receive it, and he warns the
director of box B or C, according to whether
it is for the upper or for the lower level, of
its approach. We will suppose that the
train is for the lower level. The director of
cabin B, although apprised of the approach
of the train, does not know on which of
the six tracks the director at A will turn

it. Seeing that the train is travelling
probably at 30 miles an hour, the intima-
tion must be of the briefest and quickest
character. There is no time for telegraphing.
When the director at A has decided the
road for the train he presses a small electric
button on his desk. Instantly a light on the
track chart in box B lights up, indicating
the track along which the train is coming.
The director of the latter immediately

THE SIGNALLING DIRECTOR OR GENERAL MANAGER OF THE BOX. 55 FEET BELOW THE

STREET LEVEL.

Showing telegraph and telephone, together with the illuminated track diagram. He calls out the
numbers of the levers that are to be moved.

314

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

presses a similar button which communi-
cates to the director at A that he, the
director at B, has received and understands
the signal.

An additional signal also is given to the
director in B box, from a point 1| miles
distant from the terminus, by the train
itself, through the automatically operating
track circuit devices.

To carry the train through his territory

the director at B box sets his road. He

calls out a number, or num-

The bers, corresponding to the

Lever- men. =

lever, or levers, which he

desires to be moved to carry the train over
certain tracks. The " lever-men," as the
operators are called, at once move the
levers to set the points and signals, a small
electric light showing above those levers
which are moved. These men have nothing
to do but to move the levers indicated by
the director. He is the pulse of the cabin :
the lever-men merely pace up and down
before the " piano box," as they call the
frame, moving the levers at the director's
bidding. As the director receives notifica-
tion of a train, he records it upon the
official form on his desk, which is a per-
manent record of the movements of a train
through the section, and this is filed by
the department. Thus, should an accident
occur from any cause, it is not a difficult
matter to fix the responsibility.

The director's duty appears somewhat
simple at first sight, but when the number
of tracks under his control are borne in
mind, together with the fact that possibly
twenty trains are moving in both directions
simultaneously through his territory, it will
be seen that he must maintain a clear head
and concentrate his mind upon his work.
A momentary lapse, the calling out of the
wrong number — and then a smash. He is
guided in his work entirely by the track
lights and telegraphic signals which come
to and pass from him.

Another duty has to be performed by the
director in box A, which, as mentioned

Outgoing
Trains.

previously, is the first in the chain. Directly
he has decided upon which track to turn
the incoming train, his assistant, by the aid
of the telautograph, communicates to an
official on the station the information at
which platform such-and-such a train will
arrive. This station official, being in charge
of the bulletin board, receives the written
order upon the machine before him. He
tears off the intimation, and his assistant
then chalks up the platform number on the
bulletin board. Another official speaks the
same news into a transmitter, and it is pro-
claimed from a number of electric machines
scattered throughout the station, for the
guidance of those who have come to meet
the train.

Outgoing trains are dispatched in an
equally simple manner. The tower director
of the box immediately outside
the station works according to
the time schedule. He tells the
lever-men to set so-and-so signals and
points at the minute a train is scheduled
to leave, and by communicating with the
boxes beyond him gets a clear track to the
bottleneck. No sign of the train is seen.
The director merely knows that train
number so-and-so is due to leave at a
certain time, and clears the road for it.
Should anything occur to delay the depar-
ture of the train, intimation of this fact is
given by telephone to the director of the
station signal cabin. Special trains are
handled in a similar manner from cabin
to cabin.

The system is complete in its thorough-
ness and safety. The fact that the cabin
directors are given three distinct notifica-
tions of an incoming train — first, from a
point 5 miles away by cabin A ; secondly,
from a point 1| miles distant, auto-
matically by the train itself ; and thirdly,
by the electric light system from director
to director — conduces to as smooth, steady
and safe operation in semi-darkness, 55
feet below the street, as upon the surface
with a clear view of the roads.

LERARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

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TWO 70-TON CRANES ABOUT TO SLING A CAPSIZED LOCOMOTIVE.

The " Wreckers" and their Cranes

HOW THE ROAD IS CLEARED AFTER ACCIDENTS ON THE RAILWAY

ESPITE unremitting care and
the manifold precautions that
are adopted to render rail-
way travelling secure, acci-
dents will happen. This
inevitable corollary to move-
ment over the steel highway
has been responsible in turn for the
creation of a special force, maintained
to deal with such contingencies. This is
the " breakdown gang," or, as it is called
in some countries, picturesquely if not so
appropriately, the " wrecking crew."

A collision or serious derailment throws
the working of a railway all sixes and
sevens. The streams of traffic sent flowing

with marvellous precision are obstructed,
and congestion and disorganisation become
complete. The public, notoriously fickle
and prone to grumble whenever its own
convenience or interests are affected, mur-
murs against delays, and anathematises a
system very vigorously if a mishap is per-
mitted to block movement for a very long
time, ignoring the fact that massive,
powerful locomotives and heavy coaches or
wagons which have capsized or piled-up
are difficult, cumbersome articles to handle.
The railway manager, who receives the
full brunt of public obloquy, fortunately
is fully alive to the capriciousness of his
patrons. So the order runs : " Clear the

315

316

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

line with all speed ; never mind how ; but
clear it ! " In Great Britain, where double
tracking is the rule and not the exception,
the full significance of this fiat may not
be so apparent, since often it is possible
to maintain communication by working
the traffic in both directions over a single
line ; or possibly it can be diverted so that

Ry permission of the Bitcyrns C't>.

THE POWER OF THE MODERN WRECKING CRANE.
Swinging a locomotive.

the delay is not very appreciable. But in
those countries where transportation depends
upon a single track, the tangle is disastrous,
because both streams of traffic are held up
completely. Then the full significance of
the clearing order becomes revealed very
emphatically. The chaotic mass of twisted
steel and splintered timber is thrown to one
side or cleared right away with frenzied
speed, and with very little consideration of
salvage.

The " breakdown gang " is the emergency
phase of railway life. The train engaged in
this service is kept intact in its siding
ready to answer a call at any hour of the
day or night. Every tool — saws, hammers,
hatchets, jacks, crow-bars and what-not —
is kept in its allotted place. Likewise, the

men forming the crew ever are on the alert,
so that when the call comes for the " wreck-
ing train," it is able to respond with the
celerity of a fire-engine answering an alarm.
Reaching the scene of the catastrophe,
work is prosecuted with unflagging energy
until the debris is cleared away, and the
permanent way is repaired. At night the
scene is particularly
thrilling. The torn
balks of wood are
piled into huge heaps
and .fired, the crew
toiling frantically in
the fierce ruddy blaze
of the pyres and the
brilliancy of the flare
lamps.

Nowadays the task
of the wrecking crew
is heroic indeed, ow-
ing to the increased
weights and dimen-
sions of locomotives
and rolling - stock.
When an engine may
tip the scale at 80 or
100 tons ; when a
passenger - coach 60
feet in length, may

weigh 40 tons ; and when a high capacity
wagon, 40| feet in length, representing
16 tons, filled with goods aggregating
another 44 tons, are jumbled into a
heterogeneous heap, truly herculean effort
is required to straighten things out.

Therefore, in order to be able to comply
with the clearing order, the implements used
by the breakdown gang must be of unusual
design and power. Indeed, the designing
of such equipment has become a highly
specialised branch of railway engineering.
It was not so many years ago that a small
crane of 15 tons capacity proved completely
adequate for wrecking operations, but
to-day such a tool would be worse than
useless upon the great railways of the world.
Accordingly, as the mechanical engineer

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RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

has evolved larger and heavier engines,
coaches and wagons, so has the crane-
builder progressed in the augmentation of
the capacity of his wrecking crane, until
to-day a locomotive weighing 120 or more
tons can be picked up and slung bodily
through the air as easily as if it weighed
only a matter of ounces. Recently, the
top-notch in this peculiar field has been
attained by an American firm. The In-
dustrial Works, of Bay City, Michigan, has
perfected a mammoth crane of 150 tons
capacity, which is at present the most
powerful in service.

This particular firm has made the wreck-
ing crane one of its special studies, with the
result that it is able to meet all

Gigantic requirements with the foregoing
American .

Cranes. monster, or will supply a small im-
plement able to lift only 5 tons
or so. But it is the heavier type of crane
which arouses the greatest interest, inas-
much as the design of such an implement
within the limits of railway working
bristles with many peculiar difficulties. In
these Industrial Works' machines all tech-
nical questions have been answered in a
highly successful manner. So far as the
land of their origin is concerned, the demand
for cranes of this character, owing to the
dimensions and weights of the locomotives
now in vogue, tends towards a crane vary-
ing in capacity from 60 to 120 tons, with
perhaps an enhanced request for those
ranging between 60 and 75 tons. Such
lifting powers are sufficient to meet all
ordinary demands, as cranes up to this
rating are quite capable of coping with the
average Pullman car, and the box type of
wagon, representing 60 tons in loaded con-
dition. Consequently it is the crane able
to lift from 60 to 75 tons which is most
generally seen. In view of the fact that,
in the case of a big accident, the average
wrecking train is likely to include at least
two such cranes, it is quite feasible to
handle a locomotive running up to 130 tons
in weight.

These cranes are imposing, substantial
creations with massive frames of iron and
steel. The framework varies from 24 feet
\\ inches in length by 9 feet 6 inches in
width, in the case of the 60-ton machine,
to 26 feet 1| inches long by the same width,
in the case of the 120-ton crane. In every
instance the body is carried upon two
four-wheeled trucks, having steel wheels
and correspondingly heavy hubs and
journals. The boom in each instance is
short and heavy, the overhang being
reduced to the smallest possible limits, for
convenience in travelling. Each truck is
fitted with an air-brake, while one truck
has a hand-brake attachment with remov-
able staff. Seeing that the crane is restricted
to the track, and is compelled to fulfil its
work often at awkward angles, so as to get
a perfect lifting and pulling grip upon the
wreckage, it is made revolving, the whole
slewing round upon a heavy turntable. In
the case of the 60- and 75-ton cranes, the
slewing in either direction is accomplished
by means of a double friction clutch and
gearing, so that it is unnecessary to reverse
the engine for such work.

The engines are double ; those for the
50- to 100-ton cranes have cylinders of
9 inches diameter by 12 inches
stroke ; while the 120-ton crane

The
Engines.

has cylinders with a diameter
and stroke of 12 inches. In all cases the
Stephenson link reversing motion is used
to enable the engines to be operated
in either direction when required. The
boiler is of the submerged flue type, the
dimensions varying according to the capa-
city of the crane. In the higher-powered
machines — those ranging from 100 to 120
tons capacity — stability is assured by means
of a complete system of telescopic out-
riggers on rollers, all of which are self-
contained within the car body, the centre
outrigger being provided with special ratchet
mechanism for pulling it in either direction.
The very character of the work of the
railway wrecking crew demands quick

THE "WRECKERS" AND THEIR CRANES

319

operation, and in the designing of the above
machines this salient factor has not been
overlooked. In the majority of cases the
implement is called upon to handle loads
far below the rated capacitv. Consequently,
ease and dispatch in working are essential
features. At the same time the crane must
be able to lift its maximum load with equal

95 tons, which is distributed over a wheel-
base of 19 feet 8 inches. In the latter
machine there is sufficient rope on the main
hoisting drum to operate the block a dis-
tance of 30 feet from the boom.

At times the wrecking crews upon the
railways of North America are called upon
to perform almost superhuman work. On

THE MOST POWERFUL WRECKING CRANE YET BUILT.
This appliance, designed by the Industrial Works, is able to lift 150 short tons at 17 feet radius.

ease and celerity when the occasion de-
mands. These machines likewise meet this
consideration very completely. They are
able to hoist the heaviest rated load at the
rate of 10 to 15 feet per minute, which,
as experience has shown, is adequate for
ordinary purposes. Slewing is equally
rapid, the 120-ton crane being able to
swing a light or maximum load a complete
revolution in sixty seconds.

As may be supposed, these cranes are
of immense weight. The 60-ton crane, for
instance, including all equipment and in
working order, weighs approximately 68|
tons, distributed over a wheel-base of
17 feet 6 inches, while the 120-ton crane
wreighs, under similar working conditions,

one occasion I witnessed the removal of the
wreck of a train which had jumped the
rails through fouling an obstruction, and
had plunged into a river 30 feet below.
The result was a terrifying pile of huge box-
wagons, packed upon the top of the sub-
merged locomotive. Two 75-ton wrecking
cranes, however, made short work of the
scrap-heap. The majority of the wagons
had broken up, and had to be retrieved in
large pieces, which were deposited upon
trucks for removal to the yards. Those
wagons which were not seriously damaged
were lifted bodily in the air, notwith-
standing that they represented a dead load
of 50 tons or more, and were re-deposited
upon the metals to be hauled slowly to the

320

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

nearest sidings. In order to regain the
locomotive, which was about 10 or 15 feet
under water, divers were required. With
great difficulty they burrowed under the
engine, which had buried itself deeply in
the mud, and finally they got heavy chain

and in a few seconds the engine was swing-
ing in the air, slung round, and was deposited
without a jar upon the metals ready to be
hauled back, battered and torn, to the
repair shops.

On another occasion a passenger-train

THE TRIUMPH OF THE MODERN WRECKING CRANE.
A Locomotive which had tumbled through an open drawbridge being lifted out bodily.

slings beneath it. When the word to haul
away was given, the cranes spluttered and
creaked and tugged desperately at the
chains. The engine was reluctant to leave
its slimy couch, but at last, with a kind of
kick, it came away, and was drawn up on
the embankment just clear of the water.
It was a heavy Consolidation, scaling some
70 tons, but when it was high and dry,
and with the chains still taut, the wreck-
ing crew scrambled over and under it,
attaching a new sling.

The " haul-away " order once more was
rapped out, the cranes tugged at the load,

had come to grief by tumbling through a
burnt-out trestle bridge into a mountain
rift some 35 feet in depth. The coaches
were packed in a ghastly heap, and the
superstructure in the majority of cases
had been torn from the trucks by the
impact of the fall. The wrecking crane was
drawn up to the brink of the gap, and the
crew swarmed over the pile, attaching the
chains to the larger pieces. Then the crane
engine snorted and groaned, the hoisting
chain was drawn as taut as a bow string,
and with a rending and splitting the roof
and one wall of a Pullman coach was pulled

THE "WRECKERS" AND THEIR CRANES

321

away, swung round, and dumped upon the
embankment for the time being. The loco-
motive was not to be seen, being covered
by the wreckage of the coaches. When at
last the crew were able to reach the engine
it presented a sorry sight. It was battered

hour, so as to move up to the most favour-
able points of attack — it crawled towards
the tender, which had been wrenched
free. In the course of a few minutes
this part of the locomotive was whisked
out of the way. Then slings were passed

AN INDUSTRIAL WORKS1 BREAKDOWN CRANE

AFFORD ACCESS TO

out of recognition. The boiler had been
crushed in and torn off the frame. But
within a few hours its remains were cleared
out of the rift, and were piled up on trucks
ready for removal to the scrap heap.

But possibly the most impressive illus-
tration which I have witnessed of the power
of the modern wrecking crane was in the
reclamation of a big Mikado scaling a round
100 tons. The engine had been derailed,
and had tumbled over on its side, break-
ing its couplings and throwing its tender
athwart the track. The breakdown crane
was brought up, and under its own steam
— the majority of these cranes are able to
propel themselves at about 4 miles an
41

LIFTING A WAGON BODY AND ITS LOAD TO
THE WHEEL TRUCK.

under the locomotive, and it was lifted into
the air clear of the track. The crane backed
out of the way with its load, to permit the
traffic, which had been held up, to pass
over the repaired permanent way. At
night, in the glare of powerful flare lamps,
the crew set themselves to the task of
restoring the locomotive to its normal up-
right position on the rails — a job which was
by no means easy. Then the breakdown
train was re-made up, and started off, drag-
ging the two parts of the locomotive behind
it as far as the nearest divisional point,
where it was repaired sufficiently to be run
back to the shops for overhaul. The ease
with which the huge, ungainly weight of

322

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

A NASTY SMASH: THE LOCOMOTIVE FELL THROUGH AN OPEN DRAWBRIDGE ON TO THE DECK
OF A VESSEL WHICH HAPPENED TO BE PASSING AT THE MOMENT: THE LATTER WAS SUNK

BY THE IMPACT.

100 tons odd was slung through the air,
however, served to convey a very forceful
idea of the enormous power possessed by
the crane.

Although a crane of 150-ton lifting
capacity is now in service, it is by no
means indicative of the limit in this direc-
tion. Upon many foreign railways engines
weighing from 200 to 400 tons are in opera-
tion. The crane-builder is compelled to
keep pace with the advances of the loco-
motive engineer, but with engines of the
foregoing weight the difficulties of design
along the 'lines heretofore followed become
increasingly complex. Indeed, it is main-
tained in some quarters that the 150-ton
crane represents practically the extreme
limits of such design. The enormous con-
centrated weight imposes a supreme tax
upon bridges, trestles, and similar works,
while, moreover, the limitations concerning

height and width have to be borne in
mind.

Under these circumstances it is believed
generally that the mammoth crane of the
future will follow quite different lines. In
this connection the Stokes articulated
crane offers a very complete solution of
the problem. This machine has been in-
vented by Mr. Wilfrid Stokes, the Managing
Director of the Ipswich engineering firm of
Ransomes and Rapier, Limited. The scope
of this patent is the temporary increase of
the wheel-base, together with the number
of wheels upon which the weight of the
crane is distributed. The crane carriage is
mounted upon an eight- wheeled truck, with
a four-wheeled bogie at each end, provided
with a detachable articulated relieving
girder, which can be attached or detached
quickly from the headstock of the crane
carriage by withdrawing a pin. Suitable

THE " WRECKERS " AND THEIR CRANES

323

arrangements are incorporated with each
bogie for transferring some of the load of
the crane on to the former by means of this
relieving girder. The bogie is free to swivel
about the pin at the end of the relieving
girder, while the relieving girder itself also
is free to move laterally about its pin,
connecting it to the headstock. Thus the
fixed wheel-base of the crane is not
increased by the addition of the bogies.
The arrangement certainly is very flexible
and suitable for running round sharp
curves.

When the bogies are detached they can
be lifted out of the way by the crane
itself — slings are provided for this purpose
— and can be deposited either on another
track or elsewhere until required. The
relieving girders are carried by the bogies
in such a way as to be moved easily, either
vertically or horizontally, so as to facili-
tate the insertion or withdrawal of the

connecting pin. Thus coupling up or re-
lieving only occupies from three to four
minutes.

One of the first cranes built upon this
principle was for the Great Indian Penin-
sula Railway, wherein the weight supported
by each axle is 16J tons when the bogies
are removed, and only 10£ tons per axle
when the bogies are attached for travelling.
The wheel-base of the crane itself is 13 feet
3 inches, and 40 feet 3 inches with the two
bogies. Prior to its dispatch to India this
new type of crane was subjected to interest-
ing and severe tests in England to demon-
strate its advantages. Experience has
confirmed very completely the contentions
of the builders, and railway engineers have
not failed to appreciate the fact that the
articulated system offers a highly satis-
factory means of securing heavy break-
down cranes for any class of work, without
overstraining existing bridges and other

THE LOCOMOTIVE LIFTED FROM THE RIVER AND BEING REPLACED UPON A TEMPORARY

TRACK BY THE WRECKING CRANES.

324

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

works over which they may have to pass
during transit.

This articulated wrecking crane, of 5 feet
6 inch gauge, is able to lift 20 tons at a
radius of 19 feet. In working order the
weight of the crane alone is about 65 tons ;
complete with bogies approximately 78
tons.

Although designed essentially for wreck-
ing purposes, the duties of these powerful
machines are by no means confined to such
operations. They constitute a handy tool
to the railway engineer when bridges have
to be rebuilt, while they are also exceed-
ingly useful for handling heavy loads in
the construction shops and yards. For
instance, a defect in one of the wheels of

a loaded high-capacity wagon may be dis-
covered suddenly, rendering movement of ,
the vehicle dangerous. Instead of remov-
ing the contents to another car, the break-
down crane is brought along, the vehicle
and its load intact are lifted, and the repair
is effected without disturbing the contents
of the wagon. Again, when such a laden
vehicle becomes derailed through fouling
points, and the bogie trucks become
damaged or thrown out of alignment, the
wrecking crane enables the car to be
replaced on the metals upon new trucks.
Thus it will be seen that, taken on the
whole, the "wrecking crane" is fully em-
ployed upon work widely divergent from
that for which it was primarily designed.

THE STOKES ARTICULATED CRANE. BUILT BY MESSRS. RANSOMES AND RAPIER. LIMITED. AT
THEIR IPSWICH WORKS FOR THE GREAT INDIAN PENINSULA RAILWAY.

Showing how the relieving bogies can be detached and slung clear of the road to allow the crane

to be brought up closer to its work.

THE INTERIOR OF DOEPPERSBERG STATION AT ELBERFELD.
Showing method of suspending the car and the wire netting protection between platforms.

The Langen Suspension Railway

THE CURIOUS OVERHEAD LINE WHICH RUNS BETWEEN ELBERFELD AND
BARMEN— A DISTANCE OF 8i MILES

HE overhead railways com-
mon to New York and
Chicago have been the butt
of ridicule and joke since
they first came into exis-
tence. But they have sur-
vived successfully the quips of
the humorist, the fantastic delineations of
the cartoonist, and the recriminations of
the growler, inasmuch as they offer a
successful solution of the intramural trans-
portation question. The days when cinders
and dirt descended upon horses, and when

beads of oil fell down the necks of pedes-
trians below, have passed, because electric
has supplanted steam working in accord-
ance with the spirit of the age.

No one will deny that from the aesthetic
point of view the overhead railway is an
eyesore ; it does not improve the beauty
of an ugly street by any means. But
that is not the issue. The public demands
fast means of travelling from point to
point in a busy centre, and in American
cities preferred movement over an elevated
track in broad daylight to transportation

325

326

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

through a tube in darkness. Moreover, at inverted U form of support is employed,

the time the overhead system was brought so as to leave a clear headway for the full

into being, subterranean railway building width of the thoroughfare. On the other

was in its infancy, and the public, in the hand, where the railway is built over the

wisdom of its generation, preferred the Wupper River, an A frame supersedes the

proved to the problematical. inverted U used in the highways, the legs

That the American overhead system of the frame springing from either bank,,

possesses many disadvantages no one will so that the track is placed centrally above

deny. Subsequent knowledge evolved the waterway.

superior systems of overhead transporta- The span between each support varies

tion, but even these have not enjoyed an according to the alignment of the line and

extensive vogue. The most important of the locality through which it passes, but

these is the Langen system, which works the average is from 68f feet to 108J feet,

upon the mono-rail principle, with the The sharpest curves are about 300 feet

carriage suspended below, instead of run- radius. At intervals of 900 feet rigid double

ning above, the track. A-frames are introduced in order to give

The Langen system is a German inven- the requisite longitudinal solidity and

tion, and is exemplified most potently in stability to the road, the intermediate

the stretch of line, nearly 8| supports being provided with ball-and-

Some^ miles in length, connecting the socket joints, so that they may be free

Features. *wo manufacturing towns of to move to meet the expansion and con-

Elberfeld and Barmen. From traction in the track produced by climatic

the railway point of view it is a distinct fluctuations. The road is built upon

novelty possessing many ingenious features, ample and substantial lines, the weight of

The permanent way comprises a system the track, including supports, averaging

of latticed girders, one vertical and two about 2,000 pounds per lineal yard,

longitudinal, which are assembled in such The cars are long, narrow vehicles,

a way as to offer in section an I-form. having tapered ends. They are 37| feet

The web of the I is constituted by the in length by 6f feet wide and

main girders, while the lateral girders form 8J feet in height. Each vehicle The Cars,

the upper and lower flanges of the I. The has seating capacity for fifty

latter provide the requisite stiffness to passengers, and is provided with two

the structure, while greater security is doors opening inwardly in the sides, and

obtained by the introduction of diagonal doors at each end. In running order each

bracing between the central and bottom car weighs 12 tons complete.

lateral girders.

The carriage is suspended freely from

The track, properly so-called, consists two trucks spaced about 27 feet apart,

of a single inverted T-rail along which run Each truck is equipped with two wheels

the wheels of the trucks, from which the having double flanges, and mounted in

carriages depend. This inverted T track tandem, thereby engaging with a single

is laid upon the I-beams forming the rail. Each truck is fitted with a 36-horse-

lower part of the structure, so as to offer power electric motor, and the current is

clear movement for the wheels.

drawn from the feed rail carried on the

The permanent way is supported by bottom of the lateral girder, through a

massive frames springing from the ground, slip shoe. The power is transmitted from

the shape of which varies according to the the motor through gearing to the track

situation of the railway. Thus, where the wheels,

line lies through the public streets an Every precaution is adopted to ensure

THE LANGEN SUSPENSION RAILWAY

327

safety, and a derailment is impossible,
even should a wheel or axle break, because
the truck frames are carried round the
track girder in the form of a hook. Play

tion. The passengers, however, cannot per-
ceive the slight inclination any more on
this railway than upon the conventional
line. Indeed, the inclination, even at the

THE SUSPENDED RAILWAY OVER A PUBLIC HIGHWAY.
Showing the inverted U-shaped supports for the two tracks.

of only about a third of an inch is allowed,
and in the event of a serious failure to the
running wheels, the car is prevented from
falling by the truck frames. Moreover,
in running, oscillation of the car is limited
severely, there being two projections on
the lower part of the truck frames to pre-
vent this movement. Consequently, travel,
even at high speeds round the sharpest
curves, is remarkably steady and free from
swinging movement. In rounding the
curves the cars assume a slightly inclined
position, similar to that of the ordinary
train under like conditions, but directly
it enters a tangent, or section of straight
track, the car reverts to the vertical posi-

highest speeds upon the sharpest curves,
is so very slight as to be practically imper-
ceptible.

The stations are of special construction,
being of the elevated type, with an arched
roof. The platform is placed about 20 feet
above the ground, so as to leave ample
headroom for vehicular traffic in the street
below. The platforms are approached by
covered stairways similar to those adopted
in the case of the American overhead rail-
ways, and the elevated sections of the
London and provincial railways. Within
the station, and extending throughout
its entire length and width below the
carriages, is stretched heavy wire netting

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

for the protection both of passengers and
those in the thoroughfares beneath.

Seeing that the cars are suspended, it
might be thought that a considerable

At the Zoological Gardens terminus of
the railway the cars are transferred from
the one line to the other — there are two
tracks— in a novel and simple manner. A

THE RAILWAY ABOVE THE WUPPER RIVER IN ELBERKELD.
Showing the A-shaped supports.

rocking motion would be set up by pas-
sengers entering and leaving the vehicles,
but this is overcome in an ingenious
manner. Beneath the cars a series of
springs are mounted, and these bear upon
longitudinal wooden beams, extending
through the station and beneath the sides
of the cars. Consequently, when weights
become imposed upon the platform side
of the car, inclination or rocking of the
vehicle is obviated by the springs pressing
against this wooden beam.

switch is moved, and the car, by means
of a sharply descending rail, glides on to a
second track beneath the main line, swings
round a loop, and is brought on to the
second track over a sharply ascending rail
and a lifting switch. Thus the delays at
the terminus are reduced to a minimum,
the system being safer, quicker, and easier
than would be the case were backing out
and shunting adopted.

Elaborate precaiitions are observed to
ensure safety in travelling. A block system

THE LANGEN SUSPENSION RAILWAY

329

working on the automatic track method
is incorporated, wherein the signals are
operated by the moving cars themselves.
This arrangement enables the distance
between two succeeding cars to be varied,
according to the exigencies of the traffic,
with very little difficulty. If desired, the
distance between the vehicles can be
reduced to two minutes, representing thirty
trains per hour. The cars themselves are
fitted with a Westinghouse air brake, a
hand brake, and an electrical brake, so
that ample facilities are carried for stop-
ping the train. Should the emergency
arise, these can be supplemented by re-
versing the motors.

Before this railway was built between

Barmen and Elberfeld, an experimental

line was laid down at Deutz, to

The demonstrate the features of the

Maximum , . .. ... .

Speed. system, and its possibilities, as

\vell as emphasising the safety
of the principle. On this testing line the
cars were driven at a speed as high as 47
miles per hour round the curves of 300
feet radius. When the Barmen-Elberfeld
railway was completed, the authorities
restricted the maximum speed to 25 miles
per hour, including stops, but subsequently
this limit was raised, so that now the aver-
age running speed is about 22 miles per
hour, with a maximum of 31 miles per
hour. In the tests, however, it was demon-
strated that very high speeds were possible,
and that curves of 1,200 feet radius could
be negotiated safely at 94 miles an hour.
Eighteen stations are disposed along the
railway, and the trip of 8J miles between
Barmen and Elberfeld occupies about
twenty-five minutes. The railway was
opened to traffic on March 1st, 1901. The
cost of construction averaged about
£53,000 per mile, including foundations,
track, stations and rolling stock. From
the public point of view this novel rail-
way has proved highly popular, the traffic
at times being very heavy, and its opera-
tion has been attended with a conspicuous
42

immunity from accident, owing to the
elaborate safety measures adopted. The
electrical driving equipment is in dupli-
cate, so that a complete breakdown and
total suspension of the traffic is remote.

Yet, despite the success of the Langen
Railway in this instance, it has not been
adopted elsewhere. Shortly after its com-
pletion the underground tube railway came
into vogue, and as any overhead system
is certain to entail a certain disfigurement
of the streets as well as being attended by
numerous other inconveniences, this form
of transportation has given way to sub-
terranean methods. Even in Germany
the system has not undergone further
development, recent overhead lines being
carried out in accordance with orthodox
designs.

But there is one other interesting ex-
pression of the Langen suspension idea in
the land of its genesis. This is

the Loschwitz mountain railway. "The
_.. I- j Loschwitz

It is not an exact replica of Railway.

the Barmen-Elberfeld line, be-
cause it is a combination of the Langen
and counterbalanced rope systems. Still,
it demonstrates the applicability of the
idea to mountain railways, especially for
short distances.

This line runs from Loschwitz, a small
village on the banks of the Elbe, some
5 miles from Dresden, to the top of Roch-
witz Heights, whence a magnificent pano-
ramic view of the neighbouring city is
obtainable. It is only 820 feet from end
to end, while the maximum grade is 1 in 3.

The overhead track is carried upon
thirty-three supports, ranging up to 49
feet in height, upon which is laid the
track girder and rail for the wheels of
the two overhead trucks from which the
car is suspended. The two cars, each
holding fifty passengers, and weighing
13 tons, differ from those employed on
the other Langen Railway, being, in fact,
more after the pattern of those generally
used on mountain railways.

330

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

station, driven
motors. Thus,
other descends.

The driving system also is different.
Each car is attached to the end of a travel-
ling cable, If inches in diameter, which
passes round a large drum at the upper

by two 80 horse-power
as one car ascends the

Elaborate safety devices
and operating arrangements similar to
those used upon aerial cablcways are in-
corporated to secure the safety of travellers.
The complete journey is accomplished in
three minutes, and the railway is capable
of handling 15,550 passengers each way
per day.

This application of the Langen system,
which was opened to the public in MayJ
1901, prompted Herr Feldmann to design
the aerial cable way up the Wetterhorn,]
as described in a previous chapter. As a]
matter of fact, it was responsible for the!
development of this type of mountain!
railway which now is being taken up sol
extensively. It was by no means aj
difficult evolution, seeing that the main!
difference between the two ideas is the
utilisation of a flexible cable for the track,
instead of a rigid rail, as advocated by
Langen, the inventor.

CAR ROUNDING A 900 FEET CURVE AT HIGH SPEED.

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2 £

C *

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1 1

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Famous Expresses— I

SOME ENGLISH AND AMERICAN " FLYERS " COMPARED

ROBABLY in no other part of
the \vorld is the speeding-up in
railway travelling so empha-
sised at present as in Great
Britain. Certainly no other
country can parade such a long
list of flyers running in regular
daily service, or show such fast schedule
times in proportion to mileage as the
British lines. Here and there one particu-
lar foreign train compels attention in point
of pace, but such are exceptions, not the
rule, as in British practice. Consequently,
taken on the whole, this country stands
supreme in point of speed.

In a previous chapter I have drawn
attention to the remarkable running of
the Atlantic City flyer, which is timed to
reel off the 55£ miles between Philadelphia
(Camden) and Atlantic City in 50 minutes.
It is the fastest train for this distance in
the world, but its performance in travel-
ling speed is equalled, if not exceeded, by
a British train. This is the
Newcastle to Sheffield ex-
press of the North Eastern
Railway, over the stretch of
44-125 miles between Dar-
lington and York, which it
is timed to cover in 43
minutes. At first glance
there seems to be no com-
parison between the two
achievements, seeing that the
average start-to-stop speed
of the American train is 66-0
miles per hour to cover the
distance in the time allowed,
as compared with an hourly
average of 61'57 miles in the
case of the North Eastern

express, but a little closer investigation
reveals the striking character of the latter's
performance.

In order to secure a fair comparison, it
is necessary to take into consideration the
nature of the road traversed, the relative
size and power of the locomotives em-
ployed, the fluctuations in load, and the
adverse factor of junctions. The Ameri-
can train is hauled by a very powerful
engine of the Atlantic type, the load does
not vary very considerably, and the line
runs through virtually open country from
end to end. On the other hand, the
English train is hauled by a relatively
light, small machine, the load varies very
considerably, and, owing to the North
Eastern Railway serving a densely popu-
lated territory, liberally provided with rail-
way facilities, numerous junctions serve to
hinder the opportunities of making pace.
From the grade point of view the English
railway has the advantage, since there is

OILING UP THE NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY'S FAMOUS "FLYER."
331

THE " FASTEST TRAIN IN
The North Eastern Newcastle to Sheffield Express, which is timed to cover the 44J

*«*,««.»* »v tind fenniaum of R. 7- P«™s, L

THE BRITISH EMPIRE."

miles between Darlington and York in 43 minutes, snapped at 70 miles per hour

334

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

only one bank, rising at 1 in 366 for 2| Were a clear road possible, such as is the

miles out of the 44, the balance being case between Philadelphia and Atlantic

virtually level. City, the 44 miles could be reeled off in

The average load of the North Eastern 37 minutes, or even less. Indeed, one of

train is six coaches, representing about the drivers claims to have made the run

150 tons, though in the summer the train in 37 minutes, but, unfortunately, no one

LOGS OF THE 12.20 P.M. NEWCASTLE TO SHEFFIELD EXPRESS — AS BETWEEN

DARLINGTON" AND YORK

Schedule
time

No. OF RUN
ENGINE. — Class R, No.
LOAD. — Weight empty (tons)

1147
152

2
2012
152

1209
152

1672
152

Average
pnt. to pnt.
speed on
run A"o. 4.

WEATHER CONDITIONS

Strong

Calm

Enqine

side wind

1672

Mis. Clms.

p.m.

Mts. Sees.

Mis. Sees.

Mts. Sees.

Mis. Sees.

— .

1.9

Darlington . . Start

—

„ Platform end pass

0 46

0 49

0 46

—

2 48

Croft Spa ,

4 16

4 20

4 10

3 54

40-0

5 18

Eryholme ,

6 47

6 58

6 48

6 14

67-5

6 74

Covvton . ,

8 20

8 35

8 26

7 40

71-1

10 32

Danby Wiske ,

11 24

11 34

11 20

10 33

72-3

14 14

1.23

Northallerton ,

14 46

14 50

14 43

13 46

70-4

17 46

Otterington ,

17 47

17 43

17 34

.16 36

72-0

21 74

1.30J

Thirsk ,

21 21

21 8

21 3

20 4

75-2

26 10

Sessay ,

24 52

24 30

24 27

23 33

72-3

28 4

Pilmoor ,

26 30

26 2

26 0

25 9

72-2

30 60

Raskelf ,

28 45

28 11

28 9

27 23

72-5

32 75

1.41

Alne ,

30 30

29 52

29 53

29 9

74-3

34 31

Tollerton ,

31 45

30 59

31 3

30 20

73-5

38 50

Beningbrough ,

35 15

34 18

34 26

33 45

74-4

42 43

1.49

Poppleton Junction ,

38 40

37 26

*38 43

37 0

72-2

—

York Plal/orm end, pass

40 44

*40 18

41 8

38 46

. —

44 10

1.52

„ ... (irr.

41 40

41 5

41 48

39 34

37-1

43 Mts.

Net time, minutes .

«|

40 i

391

Maximum speed

75-0

78-9

78-2

1 Dead slowed by adverse signals.

often is called upon to draw nine and ten
vehicles, bringing the load up to some
250 tons. It is always hauled by one of
the fine North Eastern 4-4-0 express loco-
motives, weighing with tender, in working
order, only 89-6 tons — a comparatively
small machine for these days and for such
work. The train leaves Newcastle at 12.20
p.m., is timed out of Darlington at 1.9
p.m., and is due to arrive at York at 1.52
p.m. As a matter of fact, it generally
arrives at York from two to three minutes
ahead of time. There is no doubt but
that this train easily could achieve the
distinction of being the fastest train in
the world only, unfortunately, it is liable
to be checked by signals in approaching
York, especially when running before time.

was timing him on the occasion, so that
the run has not received official recogni-
tion.

For the purpose of showing what run-
ning performances this train can achieve,
I have been favoured, through the courtesy
of Mr. R. J. Purves, of the Signalling
Engineering Department, with the accom-
panying logs, which were run under his
own timing. Each of the four runs was
made on a Saturday, when the train
usually is heavily crowded ; in fact, in
Run 4 the passengers were standing in
the corridors.

These logs shows the point-to-point
speeds. In connection with the first three
runs a striking similarity in the acceleration
of the respective engines is shown. In each

FAMOUS EXPRESSES

335

case the speed on passing Croft Spa was
exactly 60 miles per hour. On Run 2,
with engine No. 2012, the average speed
over the 34 miles between mileposts 37
and 3 works out at 73-6 miles per hour.

Run 4, with engine 1672, shows a most
phenomenal start, and it is doubtful
whether a parallel thereto could be found
anywhere. From Darlington to Croft the
road is level, but this engine got into its
stride so quickly that the impression of
descending a steep gradient was con-
veyed, because a velocity of 60 miles an
hour was attained within three minutes of
starting from rest. Even after passing
Croft, and when climbing the bank of
2| miles length at 1 in 366, the train con-
tinued accelerating until, when passing
through Eryholme, 69-2 miles an hour
was notched. Clearing the bank, 70 miles
an hour was exceeded immediately, and
maintained over the succeeding 35 miles
of virtually level road until steam was
shut off at the second milepost out of
York, the 35 miles being covered in 28
minutes 50 seconds, giving an average of
78-2 miles per hour. The maximum speed
attained was 78-2, a velocity which even
the crack American train would find it
difficult to equal.

I have also been able to obtain another
log with reference to Class R locomotive
No. 1207, shortly after it was fitted with
a superheater. This engine, at the time
of Avriting, was selected by the company
to work the " flyer " regularly, the driving
crew being changed weekly. On the day
of this run the engine was hampered badly
by a strong south-west wind, while the
load was slightly heavier as compared with
the preceding runs. Still, to put up a net
running time of 40-75 minutes for the
44-125 miles, under the circumstances,
constitutes a remarkably fine piece of
work. In this case a speed of 60-8 miles
was registered in passing Croft Spa, Avhile
60 miles an hour was maintained at the
top of the bank at Eryholme. This run

336

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

comes out with a maximum speed of 75 Inasmuch as the comparing of achie^

miles an hour during the journey, and ments always appeals to those interested

there is no doubt that had the con- railway running performances, the fasti

ditions been as favourable on this trip runs of the American rival between Phi

as on the occasion when locomotive 1672 delphia (Camden) and Atlantic City,

Photograph ty fermisston qftottoon and South ll'tsfcrn Aai
THE LONDON-BOURNEMOUTH TWO-HOUR EXPRESS RUNNING THROUGH EASTLEIGH.

acquitted herself so finely, the latter's
record would have been lowered.

LOG OF THE 12.20 P.M. NEWCASTLE TO
SHEFFIELD EXPRESS AS BETWEEN
DARLINGTON AND YORK.

ENGINE. — No. 1207, Class

R (superheated).

LOAD. — 165 tons, empty.

WEATHER. — Strong S.W.

Mis.

Chns.

wind.

Mns.

Sees.

Darlington . . Start

„ Platform end, pass

Croft Spa

Eryholme

Cowton .

Danby Wiske

Northallerton

Otterington

Thirsk .

Sessay .

Pilmoor.

Raskclf .

Alne

30-

Tollerton

Beningbrough

Poppleton Junction

York Platform end, pass

*40

„ . . . arr.

Net time, 40 1 minutes. Maximum speed, 75-0 miles
her hour. * Signal check.

distance of 55 \ miles, are given on t
next page.

Thus it will be realised that, all thin
considered, the achievements of the Noi
Eastern crack train compare exceeding
favourably with its American rival, a
certainly entitle it to the distinction
being the " fastest train in the Briti
Empire."

Turning from the north to the south
England, although the circumstances e
somewhat different, some first-class ru
ning performances are to be record
upon the London and South Western Ra
way. The services of this system nat\
ally fall under three groupings — first, t
long-distance trains between London a
North Cornwall via Salisbury ; scconc
and thirdly, between London, Southan:
ton, and Weymouth ; and London a
Portsmouth respectively. The first-nam
route is far from being conducive to hi
speeds, owing to the undulating charad

FAMOUS EXPRESSES

337

Dale

From

Time

Average Speed Miles

per Hour

July 14, 1897
July 4, 1900

Camden
Camden

Atlantic City
Atlantic City

46 min. 30 sees. .
44 ., 15 .,

71-6
75-2

Julv 20, 1904
Mav 14, 1905

Camden
Atlantic City

Atlantic City
Camden

43 „
42 „ 33 „

77-4
78-20

June 19, 1906

Camden

Atlantic City

43 „ 30 „

76-7

of the country traversed, there being
several long, severe rises, the heaviest of
which is the Honiton bank, with a grade
of 1 in 80 for 5 miles. So far as the
Southampton and Portsmouth roads are
concerned, easier grades are encountered,
there being a long, steady upward pull

ing often ten coaches of 54 to 56 feet in
length and weighing from 26 to 28 tons
each, the load ranges between 260 and 280
tons empty, so that to complete the jour-
ney in 120 minutes dead indicates a smart
task upon the part of the locomotive.
In the early years of the first decade of

THE "SANTA FE DE LUXE" MAKING 65 MILES PER HOUR.

This weekly train covers the 2,263 miles between Chicago and Los Angeles in 63 hours, giving an
average speed for the whole journey of 36 miles per hour.

from London (Waterloo) to Basingstoke,
followed by an equally steady descent to
Eastleigh.

The feature of the Southampton route
is the two-hour non-stop service between
London and Bournemouth, a distance of
108 miles, which represents an average
speed of 54 miles per hour. Seeing
that this train during the summer
months is patronised heavily, necessitat-
43

the present century the London and South
Western held paramount position in the
travelling time between London and Exeter,
a distance of 171 f miles. It was the first
company to bring the two points within
210 minutes' travelling of one another,
its competitor requiring an additional five
minutes to connect the two points, though
the latter route was 22 miles longer. The
rival endeavoured to reduce the time

338

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

handicap, but the competition resulted
in the South Western Company clipping
fifteen minutes off the timing, making
the 171 1 miles in 195 minutes. The run
was divided into two non-stop sections —
London to Salisbury, 83| miles, where
engines were changed, and thence to
Exeter, 88 miles. - Further paring of the
timing ensued until, competition between
the two companies being brought to an end,
a schedule of 192 minutes became standard-
ised. As, however, this includes a five
minutes' stop at Salisbury to change en-
gines, the net running time is 187 minutes,
giving an average of 55-1 miles per hour,
with an average load of 280 tons empty.

When the London and South Western

first made a bid for speed, the fastest trains

were usually double-headers,

The but the false economies

"Drummond" . . ,, ... „

Locomotive. arising from this system of

working became recognised
as the traffic grew. Consequently, larger
and more powerful locomotives, capable of
working the trains unaided even over the
heaviest banks, were evolved by the late
Mr. Dugald Drummond, the mechanical
engineer-in-chief to the system. The latest
engines of his design are the finest on the
system, and work all the heavy express
traffic. They are of the 4-6-0 class, with
four cylinders and working simple. The
cylinders have a diameter of 15 inches and
a stroke of 26 inches. The bogie wheels are
43 inches in diameter and the three pairs
of drivers 79 inches in diameter. The
heating surface of the flue and water tubes
is 1,780 square feet, and of the fire-box
140 square feet, giving a total heating sur-
face of 1,920 square feet. The fire-box
has an area of 31-5 square feet, and the
boiler pressure of the steam is 200 pounds
per square inch. The engine weighs 68
tons, and with the tender, having capacity
for 4,500 gallons of water and 4 tons of
coal, represents complete, in working order,
108 tons, while the over-all length is 63
feet. The latest Drummond locomotives

used in the express traffic may not comp]
with aesthetic considerations, but there
no denying their hauling power and speei

One of the finest trains in America
the " Santa Fe de luxe " of the Atch
son, Topeka, and Santa Fe
Railway. The problems ™
facing express working upon
this railway are of a peculiarly difficu
character, and in the run from Chicaj;
to Los Angeles the train has to ove
come no fewer than six mountain rangi
where the grades are staggering. Aft
leaving Chicago the line has a pra
tically level run of 240 miles to Fo:
Madison, the maximum grade westwai
being 31-68 feet per mile. The 200 mill
from Fort Madison to Kansas City ha,\
a similar maximum grade, except at 01
point, where there is a rise of 42-24 fei
per mile. Kansas City is at an elevi
tion of 750 feet above the sea, but withi
the next 640 miles the train has to clim
to 7,608 feet, the summit of the first ranj
at Raton. For the last sixteen miles to th
summit the train has to struggle again:
a rise varying from 106 to 185 feet p<
mile, followed by an immediate descei
of 175 feet per mile. Passing Raton, tl
line drops 1,858 feet, climbs 980 feet, fal
again 500 feet, once more struggles to 7,42
feet, descends 500 feet, followed by anoth<
ascent of 1,011 feet from an altitude of 6,23
to 7,241 feet at Glorieta, the second summi
these violent fluctuations in level occurrin
within 200 miles. Then comes anoth(
heavy drop of 2,307 feet to Albuquerque i
the course of 60 miles, followed immediatel
by another heavy pull up 2,309 feet in 16
miles to the summit of the Continent!
Divide. There is a further heavy fall t
Winslow at 4,848 feet in the next 160 mile:
followed immediately by a stiff ascent to th
Arizona Divide at 7,300 feet in the cours
of 80 miles. Thus four summits have bee
overcome within a distance of 600 mile;

The railway falls away from an altitud
of 7,300 feet at the Arizona Divide to 57

FAMOUS EXPRESSES

339

feet at Needles, the 6,665 feet difference
in level being overcome in 600 miles. After
leaving Needles the line rises 1,930 feet
in 40 miles, and drops 1,897 feet in 60
miles to Amboy. Then conies the terrible
upward pull to Cajon summit at 3,820
feet altitude, involving a climb of 3,209
feet in about 90 miles. Now ensues a
terrific sudden drop of 2,744 feet to San
Benardino, followed instantly by a rise of
2,949 feet to Tehatchapi summit, which is
about 50 miles by rail from Cajon summit.
For 25 miles the rise through the Cajon
Pass varies between 116 and 158-4 feet
per mile, while there are 25 miles of grade
at 116 feet per mile to the Tehatchapi
summit.

When the Santa Fe set out to accelerate
the train service over the 2,263 miles be-
tween Chicago and Los Angeles, it was
faced with a very stiff proposition. Yet
there was public demand for a crack train
between these two cities, and the public
was quite prepared to pay for the accom-
modation. The railway built a special

train, one of the most luxurious in the
country, and in 1911 inaugurated the Los
Angeles Limited, undertaking to complete
the journey in 63 hours. This represents
an average speed of 36 miles per hour
from terminus to terminus. But, seeing
that speed over the heavy mountain banks,
even when additional motive power is
taken on, must fall, it will be seen that
upon the more favourable parts of the
track velocities of 65 and 70 miles an
hour must be attained.

But an average of 36 miles was a decided
improvement upon competitive trains be-
tween the two points, inasmuch as the
"Santa Fe de luxe" completes the journey in
five hours less than its nearest rival on the
westward run, while coming east the same
train shows an advantage of no less than
eight hours. For the improved facilities
travellers by this train are mulcted an
extra £5 over and above the ordinary
fare. But they do not grumble. The
public has patronised the train so enthusi-
astically that it is a complete success.

THE ATCHISON. TOPEKA. AND SANTA FE " CALIFORNIA LIMITED " MAKING SPEED OVER THE
HEAVY GRADE OF 158'4 FEET PER MILE THROUGH THE CAJON PASS.

To maintain the schedule a powerful " Mountain Mikado" helper locomotive is attached as pilot.

By permission of Messrs. ±

THE 2-6-2 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE USED ON THE PRUSSIAN STATE RAILWAYS.

Some Electric Giants of Europe

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRICAL POWER HAS LED TO THE PRODUCTION
OF SOME WONDERFUL ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN LOCOMOTIVES, WHICH ARE

HERE DESCRIBED

LTHOUGH electric traction has
not made very great strides
in Great Britain in connection
with main - line working, it
has made remarkable headway
upon the continent of Europe.
This is particularly the case in
those countries where economic conditions
virtually have compelled such a move-
ment. Italy, Scandinavia, and Switzerland
are almost exclusively dependent upon
foreign sources for all fuels ; on the
other hand, each has an abundance of
water-power running to waste. It is not
surprising, therefore, in the light of modern
knowledge, that these countries should be
devoting their energies to harnessing these
sources of energy for the movement of
traffic over their respective railway systems.

So far as Switzerland is concerned, an
the same applies to Italy in a lesser d<
gree, electric traction practically became
necessity to work traffic through the lor
Alpine tunnels. Steam operation is besi
with many difficulties, not the least <
which is the fouling of the tunnels b
steam and smoke, while the problcn
attending ventilation in order to rend<
the temperature within the tunnels tole
able to the travelling public became acut
True the St. Gotthard tunnel, which is tl
longest in the country, has been worke
by steam ever since its opening, but on]
because there was no alternative. But tl
traffic of the Swiss railways has advance
by leaps and bounds until at last tl
St. Gotthard became taxed to its utmo:
capacity. The smoke trouble governed tl:

34°

SOME ELECTRIC GIANTS OF EUROPE

situation ; the tunnel became the limit
of the line.

Consequently when the Simplon was
taken in hand electrical manufacturers upon
the Continent contemplated the feasi-
bility of working it by electric traction.
The Government had left the question
open until the work was completed, or
until electric traction had reached a more
advanced stage, so that they might be in
a position to view and discuss the problem
more comprehensively and lucidly. But
the manufacturers did not wait for com-
pletion ; they formulated proposals for
achieving the desired end in anticipation.

Among these firms was that of Messrs.
Brown, Boveri, and Company, of Baden,
Switzerland, a concern which, founded bv

out the Simplon tunnel and railway, and
to have it ready by the day the tunnel
was opened to traffic. It was a big proposal,
and in the light of contemporary know-
ledge was somewhat bold. Still, it was
favourable from the Government's point
of view, inasmuch as the company under-
took to complete the work at its own
expense, and if it should prove a failure,
would remove it. The Government there-
fore stood to lose nothing, since, even if
things came to the worst, they could intro-
duce steam working immediately, so that
there need be no interruption of traffic.

At first sight such a bargain appeared to
be one-sided ; the company seemed to be
facing a heavy risk. But against this con-
tention had to be placed the circumstance

•
- - ~^

By permission of Messrs. Sif/ietts, Ltd.

THE 1.250 HORSE-POWER 2-8-2 LOCOMOTIVE USED ON THE DESSAU-BITTERFELD RAILWAY.

an Englishman, has grown and spread its
tentacles all over the world. In the
autumn of 1906 this firm approached the
Swiss Federal Railways with an offer to
instal a system of electric traction through-

that Brown, Boveri, and Company already
had completed several notable electric
railway undertakings, such as the Gorner-
grat rack, the Jungfrau, and the Burgdorf-
Thun railways. Although none of these

342

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

installations approached that contemplated
for the Simplon in magnitude, still, they
provided the contractors with valuable
experience and a basis for completing the
larger and more important work.

The Government discussed the offer,

but although it appreciated the fact that

a unique opportunity would be

The Offer provi(}ed for the purposes of
Accepted.

comparing steam and electric

traction upon a large scale, it did not
accept it finally until the end of the
year 1905. This delayed acceptance was
disadvantageous to the contractors, as the
tunnel was approaching completion, and
they would have to hasten to have their
work completed on time. On the other
hand it \vas a fortunate circumstance,
inasmuch as no time could be afforded to
discuss the merits of the relative systems.
The company had more familiar experience
with the three-phase system up to that
date than with any other, so decided imme-
diately to instal it on the Simplon Railway.
The greatest anxiety arose in connection
with the locomotives, but even this diffi-
culty was overcome success-
fully. At the time the con-
tractors had two three-phase
1,000 horse-power locomotives under con-
struction for the Adriatic electric railways.
So, in order to gain time, the Italian rail-
way company was approached to ascertain
whether it would waive its rights to these
engines and allow them to be used on the
Simplon line, the peculiar circumstances
being explained. The Italian railway com-
pany readily consented to the proposal.
The work of electrifying the tunnel was
taken in hand without delay, and was
pushed forward so satisfactorily that the
installation was completed on time. In
one respect the contractors had to make
existing facilities serve their purpose. This
was in regard to the power stations. The
two water-power stations, at Brigue and
Iselle respectively, which had been laid
down to supply the machines used in

The
Locomotive.

boring the tunnel were utilised for t
purpose, merely being modified to m
the new conditions. They were pur
makeshifts and served their purpo
very effectively, although their operati
was far from being as reliable as \
desired. Still, their temporary charac
was recognised, and it was appreciated t]
the defects which arose from time to ti
in connection therewith would be entir
overcome when a specially designed pow
house was erected. These two stati<
supplied current at 3,300 volts, and
periodicity of 16 cycles per second, a
fortunately the two locomotives uni
construction for the Italian railways h
been designed for this pressure and i
quency.

The locomotives, which were giants
their day, were of the bogie type, with f
axles, three of which were driven,
so that the machine coincided '
with the 2-6-2 Whyte numerical
classification. The traction motors w
placed between the three pairs of drivi
wheels, and both drove on the mid
axle by means of a bar coupling th
rigidly together. This axle in turn drc
the other two by means of a coupli
rod, so that gears were eliminated. 1
over-all length of the locomotive was
feet 6 inches with a distance of 23 f
between the bogies, and 16 feet 1 ir
between the driving axles. The drivi
wheels were 5 feet 4| inches diameter, a
the bogie wheels 2 feet 9J inches in diamet
The total weight of the machine was
tons. Of this total 34 tons represenl
the mechanical section of the equipme
and 28 tons the electrical portion, wt
42 tons were imposed on the driving whe<
The weight of each motor complete v
lOf tons, and they were the lightest
their output which had been built up
that time. The normal rating of the t
motors working together was 900 hor
power, with a maximum of 2,300 hor
power, the normal speeds being 21 mi

344

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

and 42 miles per hour. The draw-bar pull
at 42 miles per hour ranged from 7,700
pounds normal to 20,000 pounds maximum,
and from 13,500 pounds normal to 31,000
pounds maximum at 21 miles per hour.

In deciding the installation it was stipu-
lated that the speed of acceleration, when

starting on the higher speed
Supremacy of ith t j weighing 300
Electricity.

tons, should be 0-5 feet per

second, per second, for which a draw-bar pull
of 16,000 pounds had to be exerted, while,
when starting with a goods train weighing
400 tons at the lower speed, the rate of
acceleration was to be 0-36 feet per second,
per second, a draw-bar pull of 20,000
pounds being necessary in this instance.

For a time steam trains were run side
by side with the electric trains in order to
obtain conclusive comparative data, but
it was not long before the electric traction
asserted its undoubted supremacy in such a
manner as to induce the abandonment of
steam traction. Ultimately the installa-
tion was accepted and taken over by the
Government. At the same time the possi-
bilities of electric traction for main line
working became emphasised so strongly that
the Swiss Government forthwith turned
its attention to the question of electrify-
ing the whole of the lines embraced in
the Federal system, which work is being
accomplished slowly but surely.

Since the electrification of the Simplon

Railway many powerful electric locomotives

have been designed, and many

Swedish important main-line electri-

Developments. " •

fication schemes have been

taken in hand. This is particularly the case
in Sweden, where elaborate experiments
were continued over a period of many years
in order to thresh out the issue in all its
bearings. It has now been decided to
electrify the main line of the State system
between Kiruna and Riksgranscn. An
enormous mineral traffic flows over this
highway to Ofoten, the great ore-shipping
point on the Norwegian coast in the Arctic

circle, since this line traverses the heart
of the Swedish ore mining territory, con-
necting it both with the Baltic at Stock-
holm and the Atlantic seaboard.

Fifteen powerful locomotives have been
built by Messrs. Siemens, Limited, for the
electrified section of this railway, which is
93-75 miles in length. The locomotives are
of two types, one having a four-wheeled
bogie at each end and two driving axles
— 4-4-4 type — and the other comprising
an articulated system with two sets each
having three pairs of coupled axles — 0—6-6-0
type. The horse-power in each instance,
however, is identical, 1,250, while current
is supplied to the contact line at a pressure
of 15,000 volts with a frequency of 15 cycles
per second. This company also has built
some powerful machines for the 22 miles
of the electrified Dessau-Bitterfeld section
of the Prussian State system. The most
powerful are the 2-6-2 of 1,800 horse-
power, the 4-4-2 type of 1,100 horse-power,
and one of the 2-8-2 class with an output
of 1,250 horse-power.

But the largest and most powerful
electric locomotives at present in service
in Europe are the interesting

machines which have been The

,. , . , Lotschberg

supplied to work the Lotsch- Locomotives.

berg Railway between Spiez
and Brigue, a distance of 48-48 miles, includ-
ing the tunnel. When this huge undertaking
was sanctioned by the Federal Government
it was decided to work the tunnel from
its inauguration by electric traction, the
experience with the Simplon tunnel line
having emphasised the advantages of elec-
tricity over steam, as already mentioned.
In the case of the Lotschberg Railway,
however, the conditions which had to be
fulfilled were of a far more exacting char-
acter. In order that there should be no
uncertainty or delay in working the tunnel
directly it was opened for traffic the first
section of the line, that from Spiez to
Frutigcn, 7^ miles, which was completed
in 1901, was selected as a testing ground

SOME ELECTRIC GIANTS OF EUROPE

345

on which the two systems might be run
side by side for comparative results, and
also to afford some definite data concerning
the best system and type of electric loco-
motive adapted to the heavy conditions

Simplon tunnel, and as heavy trunk railway
working was to be expected, the traffic con-
ditions of the St. Gotthard were taken as a
basis in determining the electrification of
the Lotschberg Railway. The Government

£j permission of Messrs. Bro-wn, fioveri & Co.
THE OLD AND THE NEW ON THE SIMPLON RAILWAY.

Each locomotive develops approximately the same horse-power, but whereas the 4-6-0 steam engine
weighs about 110 tons, the electric unit weighs only 62 tons.

which were to be satisfied. This section of
the line was suited to the investigations,
although the maximum gradient is only
1 in 65, whereas between Frutigen and
Kandcrsteg, the northern portal of the
Lotschberg tunnel, the heaviest rise is
1 in 35. For nine years the railway was
steam operated, but then it was converted
to electric traction on the single-phase
alternating current system, the pressure
on the contact line being 15,000 volts at
15 cycles per second.

As the business over this high road was
certain to equal that passing through the
44

laid down the specifications which were
to be fulfilled, and these certainly were of
no light order. On the St. Gotthard line,
where double-heading is practised with the
heaviest trains, a load representing 310 tons,
exclusive of engines, can be hauled at 22
miles an hour over a maximum grade of
1 in 37. This speed, at least, was to be
equalled in electric working, although
double-heading was not to be adopted.
Accordingly the Government called for the
most powerful locomotives that could be
designed in accordance with existing know-
ledge of electric traction. Two locomotives

346

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

were offered, one made by a Swiss com-
pany, the Ocrlikon Electrical Company of
Zurich, and the other by the A.E.G. (General
Electric Company) of Berlin.

It was a piquant situation. Each firm
has achieved a high reputation in European
electrical manufacturing circles, and each
"was determined to eclipse the other. Ac-

exceeding 1,000 horse-power was in ope
tion in any part of the world. This met
that considerable pioneering had to
accomplished in the design and construct!
of the machines. Still, the resources of e£
firm were equal to the task. Each suppl
huge magnificent-looking machines, unrr
takably bearing the imprint of possess!

THE MOST POWERFUL ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE IN EUROPE.

The 2,000 horse-power 0-12-0 electric locomotive built by the Oerlikon Electrical Company for the

Lotschberg Railway.

cordingly two electric giants were produced,
and for two or three years were run neck
and neck up and down the track between
Spiez and Frutigen, hauling all kinds,
lengths, and weights of trains. Careful
records were kept of the performances.
Neither company spared any effort to show
what it could do ; the products of German
and Swiss industry were pitted against one
another.

At the time the two firms were requested
to furnish the most powerful machines they
•could devise no single-phase locomotive

great haulage power. At the same til
each company was under a certain restr
tion which precluded the possibility
carrying the power factor to an extrei
degree. According to the internatioi
agreement the maximum draw-bar p
mitted is 22,000 pounds.

So far as horse-power is concerned t
Swiss company produced the most power
electric locomotive. Indeed, this engii
No. 121, is the most powerful alternati
current electric locomotive in Europe
present, and certainly exceeds in tl

SOME ELECTRIC GIANTS OF EUROPE

347

(respect any steam locomotive working upon
Continental railways. It is of the 0-6-6-0

the latter is approximately 230 tons, or
more than 2j times the weight of the

type, having 12 driving wheels disposed in 2,000 horse-power electric locomotive.

two groups, each bogie being a complete
unit. By this arrangement the whole of
the weight of the locomotive — 90 tons — is
available for adhesion, representing 15
tons per axle. The three pairs of driving
wheels of each bogie are coupled, and as
the two units are housed in one cab they
can be used together. At each end of the
locomotive is the driver's station together
with control, so that the engine may be
driven from either end, the central space
being occupied by the transformers and the
other electrical accessories. Each motor
weighs 9-8 tons, and each transformer
5-5 tons, the total weight of the electrical
equipment being 44 tons — practically one-
half the weight of the locomotive. The
driving wheels have a diameter of 54
inches.

Each motor develops 1,000 horse-power,
representing 2,000 horse-power for the
complete locomotive, at a speed of 26 miles
per hour, at which speed a draw-bar pull
of 22,000 pounds is exerted — the maximum
permitted by the international agreement.
This means that the locomotive can haul

The locomotive supplied by the General
Electric Company develops 400 horse-power
less. It is of the articulated 2-4-4-2 type,
there being two sections coupled together.
Each carries a motor having an output of
800 horse-power, making 1,600 horse-power
for the complete engine, at 25 miles per
hour. This enables the locomotive to
haul a train weighing 400 tons, exclusive
of engine, up a gradient of 1 in 66, or a
load of 250 tons, also exclusive of engine,
over a gradient of 1 in 37, at 26 miles
per hour.

It will thus be seen that the Swiss loco-
motive with its 400 extra horse-power has
the advantage in hauling capacity of 100
tons on the easier, and of 60 tons on the
steeper gradient. Taken on the whole it
will be admitted that the Swiss manufac-
turers have acquitted themselves magnifi-
cently in what was a difficult undertaking.

As a result of the trials the Oerlikon
Company was awarded the contract for 10
locomotives of a similar type. Each engine
will be fitted with two 1,250 brake horse-
power motors, and be capable of attaining

a train weighing 500 tons, exclusive of the speeds ranging from 31 J to 47 miles per hour,
engine, over a grade of
1 in 66, or a train of
310 tons, exclusive of
the engine, up a bank
of 1 in 37 at a speed of
26 miles per hour. In
order to gain some im-
pression of the signifi-
cance of this haulage
power it may be men-
tioned that to haul a
train of 310 tons over
a similar grade on the
St. Gotthard Railway at
22 miles an hour — four
miles per hour less —
requires two locomotives. ONE OK THE SIX-WHEELED BOGIES AND ITS i.ooo HORSE-POWER

„. . . . , MOTOR OF THE OERLIKON ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE BUILT FOR

I he combined weight ot THE LOTSCHBERG RAILWAY.

THE " EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD."

The Victoria Tubular Bridge, built by Ross and Stephenson, across the St. Lawrence River, to can

the Grand Trunk Railway from bank to bank.

The Opening-Up of Canada— I

THE ROMANTIC STORY OF THE GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY

HE fifties of the nineteenth
century constituted a busy
epoch in the development of
the railway. British engineers
and railway builders were in
urgent request the whole world
over to plot and lay the
highway of steel. In 1850 only fourteen
countries were blessed with these trans-
portation facilities, ranging from a handful
of 15 miles in Switzerland to 6,621 miles in
Great Britain and 9,021 miles in the United
States. Not a mile of metal had been laid
in South or Central America, south-eastern
Europe, India, and the East. Projects were
being discussed on every hand, but those
capable of grappling with the peculiar re-
quirements of the work were few and far
between.

About this time a large firm of British
contractors, Peto, Brassey, and Betts,
having completed some big undertakings
on the European continent, aspired for new

worlds to conquer by railway. They h
an immense and valuable plant lying ii
with which they could start operatic
anywhere without delay. Moreover, t
possession of this complete equipnK
enabled them to tender for work at
favourably competitive figure, inasmuch
it was more expensive to let it lie idle th
to use it.

This situation developed just when
group of daring financiers had decid
upon the railway invasion of British Noi
America. The latter considered this ter
tory to offer tempting attractions, desp
the fact that at that date the populati
of the country was only about 3,100,0(
scattered along the shores of the Atlant
the River St. Lawrence as far as La
Ontario, and the narrow strip on the Paci
coast known as British Columbia. Soi
66 miles of line met the whole requiremei
of the country, but it was consider
adequate, because the population depend
348

THE OPENING-UP OF CANADA

349

upon the water arteries for the movement
of traffic.

The first attempt to provide Canada
with railway facilities was unpretentious
in the extreme. It was a wooden tram-
way extending a distance of 17-38 miles
between La Prairie, opposite Montreal, and
St. Johns, on the Richelieu River, so as to
offer combined railway and water connect ion
via the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, and
Richelieu River with New York. This line
was opened for traffic with much jubilation
in 1832. But the first winter played such
havoc that the wooden rails were torn up
during the ensuing spring and replaced by

The British financiers evolved an am-
bitious undertaking, and appeared to have
an open field. But conflicting interests
soon arose. In 1845 a corporation secured
the right to and did build a line from the
port of Portland, Maine, to the international
boundary, near Norton Mills, Vermont.
However, directly it was completed it was
taken over by the British financiers for a
period of 999 years, and continued from
the frontier to Longeuil, on the south bank
of the St. Lawrence, near Montreal.

The activity of the British interests
prompted other enterprises in different
parts of the country with an utter lack of

TRAIN EMERGING FROM THE OLD TUBULAR
It carried only a single line.

BRIDGE

metals. This humble beginning was on a
parallel with the famous Stockton and Dar-
lingtonRail\vay,the engines and rolling stock
being of the most primitive description.

cohesion. Odd lengths of line were built
here and there. Realising the drawbacks
incidental to this sporadic policy, the British
financiers gathered up the isolated sections,

350

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

and consolidated them into a homogeneous
whole, at the same time undertaking to
connect them together. The act of incor-
poration was passed by the Legislature in
1852, and the Grand Trunk Railway, as
it is called now, came into being.

The railway builders had not been on the

ground long when they found that they had

under-rated the enormity of the

The task confronting them. Experi-

Surveying . . , „

Difficulties. cnce m van°us parts of Europe,

whereupon they had based
their constructional estimates, proved use-
less. They never had been faced previously
with similar conditions. The country was
inhabited only among the fertile valleys
threaded by the St. Lawrence, the settled
parts of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,
Quebec, and Ontario. These communities
were hemmed in by dense jungle-like pri-
meval forest, the recesses of which were as
cold and uninviting in the height of summer
as in winter. The dense bush was un-
tra versed save only .by narrow, winding,
and rough Indian trails. The surveyors
slashed their way through solid walls of
timber. The work was heart-breaking ;
progress was exaspcratingly slow.

The severe winter, with its marrow-
freezing temperature, blinding blizzards, and
heavy snowfall, drove all the workers from
a silent white tomb to the comparatively
gay and attractive settlements. Transport
difficulties were enormous, while the feeding
of the scattered camps with the most frugal
fare taxed the ingenuity of the commis-
sariat department to a supreme degree,
and, despite the herculean efforts put forth,
the service broke down time after time.

Faced by such pluck-shattering obstacles
the builders naturally followed the line of
least resistance. They swung down the
north bank of the St. Lawrence, and when
the waterway opened out into the broad
expanse of Lake Ontario, they hugged the
latter's northern shore. To-day, while this
is a fast channel for through traffic, it suffers
from one serious disability which will never

be overcome — traffic can be drawn only from
one side of the line. Had the road been
driven from 10 to 15 miles farther inland,
even if it had entailed slashing and hacking
through dense forest for every mile of the
way, it would have been more profitable
in the long run, since the country has
become as settled as the South of England,
and revenue would have fed the railway
from both sides.

Yet, despite all difficulties, the pioneers
prosecuted their task with commendable
vigour. The labour problem

was acute, but was overcome The Labou*

Problem.

by attracting workers from the

homeland, who, after they had completed
their grading work, bought and settled
farms with their accumulated wages, and
soon attained a position of complete in-
dependence if not wealth. Thus the rail-
way builders accomplished two ends by a
single stroke. They not only opened the
country ; they settled it as well. Con-
struction proved exceedingly costly, and
although the undertaking was liberally sup-
ported by valuable official aid, many British
millions were sunk in the work. The rail-
way builders were hit particularly heavily,
and when they retired from the scene it
is estimated that they left a round million
behind them.

When at last the railway was completed
between Montreal and the Lakes, through
communication with the Atlantic seaboard
was interrupted by the St. Lawrence River,
Passengers were forced to detrain and
cross from bank to bank, when the water-
way was open, by a steam ferry. In the
winter, when a sheath of ice several feel
thick forced the ferry into inactivity,
teams and sleighs had to be requisitioned
to bridge the gap. A sleigh trip may have
possessed certain elements of novelty and
exhilaration to visitors, but it was not
free from untoward excitement and thrill,
especially towards the end of the wintei
when the ice breaks up. On one occasion
a sleigh tooled by one of the expert railway

THE " TREVITHICK," A FAMOUS FOUR WHEEL COUPLED FLYER OF ITS DAY.
Wood was used as fuel, which was stacked in the tender. Note the funnel-shaped smoke-stack.

THE HUGE "PACIFIC ' TYPE WHICH HAULS THE "INTERNATIONAL LIMITED" TO-DAY.

352

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

drivers started off with its human load.
Ere the middle of the river was gained there
was a -deafening cracking and groaning on
all sides. Before those on the sleigh
realised the import of the sound the whole

The significance of this interruption was
appreciated by the railway from the very
first, but how to span the gap was a baffling
obstacle. A bridge was certain to be costly
and difficult, seeing that at this point the

mass of ice commenced to move bodily waterway is over a mile in width, deep,

down stream. An immersion seemed im-
minent, but the driver, alert and vigilant,

and runs swiftly, while the pressure of the
vast ice-shoves in the spring is enormous.

• l i i l i UJJ

THE VICTORIA JUBILEE BRIDGE. MONTREAL. SHOWING THE NEW SUPERSTRUCTURE.

It was built around the tubular bridge, so that traffic was not stopped. The present bridge carries
a double track, electric tramway, roads, and pavements.

steered his team dexterously, and at last,
when the movement subsided, drove fran-
tically towards the bank, reaching it safely.
But the experience proved too terrifying
to one of the passengers, who died from
exhaustion and fright. It may be men-
tioned that the ice attains such a thickness
on the river as to be able to support a
moving train. Indeed, in the movement
of freight during the winter the Grand
Trunk Railway used to lay down a light
track from bank to bank, and run the
trains, hauled by a small locomotive, across
the ice.

The greatest drawback, however, was
experienced every spring and autumn. The
ice-floes in the river rendered ferrying pre-
carious, so traffic had to be abandoned for
some two or three weeks until the river had
cleared or had become frozen over suffi-
ciently to enable the sleighs to venture
thereon.

It was feared that no creation would be
able to stand. However, Mr. Alexander
Ross, an accomplished engineer, who had
achieved a big reputation building rail-
ways in Europe, took up the problem.
He proposed a massive bridge, built upon
the tubular system, such as carries the
London and North Western Railway across
the Menai Straits to-day. He spent several
months inspecting the river and banks,
studying the fickleness of the currents and
ice runs. He returned to England in 1852
and communicated his proposals to Robert
Stcphenson. The latter extended his
approval and congratulated the engineer
upon his daring and skill. When Ross's
designs became known they were attacked
vehemently in certain quarters, especially
by American interests who aspired to com-
plete the work, but Stephenson supported
his colleague whole-heartedly, and the work
was commenced.

THE OPENING-UP OF CANADA

353

The first stone was laid on July 22nd,
L854, and Ross haunted the scene day and
night until the bridge was completed on
November 24th, 1859. Surprises were
>prung upon him and his collaborators at

The setting of the iron-tube, in which
the metals were laid from bank to bank,
was the most exacting task. The tunnel
was 6,592 feet long, by 16 feet wide, and
18 feet high, divided into twenty-five spans,

PULLMAN DRAWING-ROOM CAR ON THE " INTERNATIONAL LIMITED."

every turn, but every difficulty was sub-
jugated as it developed, and with very
little delay to the work. No chances were
taken. The piers were built upon ample lines,
and carried well down into the river bed
to withstand a current of some 7 miles per
hour and the terrifying ice-shoves which
are set up each spring. The engineer was
handicapped somewhat by the short period
of the working season, which averaged only
some twenty-six weeks per year, until the
superstructure could be taken in hand.
Every available man was crowded on,
about 3,000 labourers finding employment
when the task was in full swing.
45

and the toilers were called upon to handle
9,044 tons of metal. By the time the last
of the 2,250,000 rivets had been driven
well and truly home on August 25th, 1860,
by His Majesty King Edward VII., then
Prince of Wales, £1,300,000 had been spent,
an unexpected result, as the expenditure
was £100,000 less than the estimated price.
The Victoria Tubular Bridge, as it was
called, was reckoned to be the " Eighth
Wonder of the World." So soundly was it
built that it defied the caprices of the St.
Lawrence for nearly forty years. It was
a huge metal bore carrying a single track,
and as the railway business grew it became

354

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

taxed and taxed until it carried 100 trains
a day. The working of the bridge was
brought to its limit ; not another train a
day could be squeezed in. Only one
train could be on the bridge at a time, and
this bottle-neck set up heavy traffic con-
gestion. Moreover, the engines and trains
so grew in weight that apprehensions arose
concerning the safety of the structure.

Accordingly, in the early 'nineties, the

question arose as to whether the time had

not arrived when the Ross and

How the Stephenson bridge should be

Bridge was

Rebuilt. superseded by a structure more

in accordance with the times.
The point was : '' What is the most eco-
nomical means to achieve the desired end ? "
The subject was discussed earnestly ; finally
it was decided that the easiest, simplest,
and cheapest means of meeting the situa-
tion was to provide a new superstructure,
making the conversion upon piecemeal
lines under traffic conditions. The piers
were enlarged so as to take a new and
wider open bridge to accommodate two
sets of metals, a road for trams as well
as highways for vehicular and pedestrian
traffic.

The piers were examined and found to
have been built so strongly that they
required no additional reinforcing ; the
new masonry to carry the widening merely
was added to the old. Work was com-
menced in October, 1897. Each new span
was built around the existing tube, and
when completed and ready for setting in
position, the old span was cut away from
its supports and then withdrawn. Work
went forward uninterruptedly, span by
span, although for two months not a stroke
could be done owing to the severity of the
winter of 1897-8. Extreme precautions
had to be observed so as to reduce inter-
ference with traffic to the minimum, but
this was fulfilled so completely that during
the eight months construction was in
progress the aggregate period for which
the bridge was closed amounted only to

20 hours, the longest single spell being
two hours' duration.

The new bridge is more than twice t
weight of its predecessor, containing 22,0
tons of steel. It is 66 feet 8

inches in width, and varies from ™.e. Nl

Bridge
40 to 60 feet in height, while

it cost £400,000. The present link
communication, known as the Victoi
Jubilee Bridge, with its double track,
likely to meet all requirements of the ra
way for many years to come, its capaci
being practically unlimited in conjuncti
with the electric block system, permitti
some three trains to be on each road of t
bridge simultaneously.

When the British builders laid t
original stretch of railway, constituti
the foundation of the Grand

Trunk system, the broad "Battle of
. the Gauges

gauge of 5 feet 6 inches was

adopted. But later railways in other pai
of the Eastern provinces preferred t
Stephenson gauge of 4 feet 8j inch<
Canada accordingly had its " Battle
the Gauges," even as did Great Britai
Sir Henry Tyler, when he assumed t
presidential chair of the undertaking, i
commended in 1867 that the 5 feet 6 inch
should be adopted as the standard for t
Grand Trunk, and that a purchased su
sidiary stretch of 60 miles, running frc
Detroit to Port Huron, which had be
built on the narrower, should be convert
to the broader, gauge. However, t
Stephenson gauge triumphed on the Nor
American continent, so that, unlike t
Great Western Railway at home, the Grai
Trunk bowed to the inevitable witho
delay. In 1874 the broad gauge w
abandoned in favour of that of 4 feet
inches.

While Sir Henry Tyler manifested shoi
sightedness in respect of the gauge,
was exceptionally perspicacious in a
other respect. Chicago at that time was
healthy growing town of 200,000 peop
Tyler advocated pushing the Grand Trui

THE OPENING-UP OF CANADA

355

metals into the budding metropolis of the
Middle West with all possible speed. The
movement was opposed, but he gained the
day, and the rails were carried into Chicago.

tively speaking, was laid as cheaply as
possible, making curves to avoid obstacles,
and with heavy banks which, as traffic
grew, hindered easy, cheap, and quick

COMBINED PULLMAN AND SLEEPER.

The lower berths are made up between each facing pair of seats. The upper berths are let down

like shelves from the angle ceiling.

This was a smart display of enterprise, as
subsequent events have proved conclu-
sively, because the steel highway between
Montreal and the " Windy City " consti-
tutes the busiest railway artery in Canada,
over which flows the commerce of two
powerful nations. The growth of Montreal
as a shipping point during the summer
is developing this traffic in an amazing
manner, . as Chicago and its flourishing
industrial environs are provided with an
additional outlet to Europe.

The original highway between these two
points was a single track, which, compara-

movement severely. For some years the
company tolerated these drawbacks, with
the result that it was outstripped by more
energetic rivals which had arisen ; indeed,
its very existence was threatened. The
railway became a by-word of reproach
throughout Canada and the United States,
and was avoided by all except those who
either had to take it or walk. Disaster
appeared to be imminent ; dividends had
vanished ; traffic had shrunk to negligible
proportions.

At this juncture energetic spirits secured
the reins of control, and the process of

CANADA'S CRACK TRAIN, " THE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED," MAK

The 842 miles are cov

MILES AN HOUR BETWEEN MONTREAL AND CHICAGO.
22 hours, including stops.

358

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

rejuvenation was undertaken regardless of
expense. The whole of the trunk road
between Montreal and Chicago was torn up,
straightened, flattened, and many super-
fluous miles were cut out. Moreover, it
was double-tracked from end to end, the
length of this stretch, representing 842
miles, rendering it one of the longest
double-tracked railways in the world.
No less than $16,006,445, or over
£3,320,000, were expended upon this
scheme of modernisation, and, as events
have proved, this courageous policy,
worthy of Harriman, has turned out the
wisest and most profitable development
recorded in Canadian railway history.

The result of this wise move was
felt instantly. Traffic congestion was re-
moved, and the commercial centres in the
Middle West, obtaining quicker dispatch,
embraced this route for their shipments.
Passenger traffic advanced likewise by
leaps and bounds, and as this became

more and more imposing no effort was
spared to foster it. This policy culminated
in the introduction of the " International
Limited," which to-day is Canada's crack
train, both in luxurious appointment and
speed, covering the 842 miles between
Montreal and Chicago in 22 hours. To-day,
the Grand Trunk line between Montreal
and Chicago is the busiest steel highway
in the Dominion, and one of the most
heavily patronised by freight and pas-
senger upon the North American conti-
nent.

While overhauling was in progress the
railway also pursued the wise action of
buying out rivals. Odd short lengths of
line here and there were acquired and con-
solidated into the parent system. Thus
some of the most relentless competition was
eliminated, and a huge system, now aggre-
gating 5,300 miles, forming a gigantic steel
web over the whole of Southern Ontario
has been spun.

CARILLON AND GRANVILLE RAILWAY TRAIN.
The oldest train in America, with the old famous " Birkenhead " locomotive.

PJiotograph by Wehrli, KiUhber^, Zu

THE LOWER TERMINUS OF THE JUNGFRAU RAILWAY AT KLEINE SCHIEDEGG.

To the Eternal Snows by Rail

HOW THE JUNGFRAU, THE GIANT OF THE BERNESE OBERLAND, HAS BEEN
CONQUERED BY THE STEEL HIGHWAY

ERR ADOLPH GUYER
ZELLER was an enterprising
manufacturer of Zurich. The
claims of business did not
afford him many opportunities
for relaxation, but in August,
1893, he seized the oppor-
tunity to snatch a few days' holiday
with his daughter in the Bernese Ober-
land. In the manner of every visitor,
his itinerary included the ascent of the
Schildhorn, and the arduousness of climb-
ing even the easiest of mountains afoot
was brought home to him vividly.

While descending the mountain and en-
joying the vista of glacier-top and ragged
snow-clad crest forming the frowning ram-
part from which the heads of the Jungfrau,
Monch, and Eigerjoch tower above the
deep ravine of the narrow White Liitschine,
his eyes became arrested by a trailing film
of smoke which curled higher and higher
up the side of the mountain wall. The
sight of that filmy trail swung his thoughts
from romance and idleness into the stern
rut of business and commerce. The black
streak which he saw emanated from the
little locomotive which was puffing, snort -

359

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

ing, and straining for all it was worth to
lift one or two carriages laden with visitors
over the narrow track of steel which had
been laid from Lauterbrunnen through
the Kleine Schiedegg Pass. He watched
the combing wreaths for some minutes
and then proceeded to his hotel, thinking
hard and speaking but little.

When he returned to Zurich a few days
later he sought out some of his financial

friends, and in conclave out-
A Startling jmcd scheme which was at
Proposal.

the back of his mind. His

companions listened intently, but finally
punctuated his conversation with the ejacu-
latory comments, " Impossible ! " " Quite
impracticable ! " " Kochiin, Trautweiler,
and Locher had the same idea, but gave
it up ! " The manufacturer ignored their
remarks, and asserted more vigorously than
ever that his idea was feasible.

The astonishment of his friends was not
surprising, for Herr Guyer-Zeller's proposal
certainly was startling. It was nothing
more nor less than to carry a railway to
the summit of the Jungfrau. The idea
was not novel by any means, because at
different times a similar project had been
outlined by Kochiin, Trautweiler, and
Locher, but they had been foiled. The
Zurich manufacturer, as a result of his
climb of the Schildhorn, had grasped in
a moment how he could succeed where
those before him had failed. They pro-
posed to take the railway through the
White Liitschine valley, which he deemed
to be madly impracticable. He pointed
out that the Wengernalp Railway started
from Lauterbrunnen and climbed to Kleine
Schiedegg at 6,770 feet. That was the ob-
vious route to the Jungfrau summit, and by
starting from Kleine Schiedegg it would be
necessary to overcome only another round
9,000 feet, as the Jungfrau rises to a height
of 13,671 feet above sea level.

Although his friends were somewhat
sceptical as to the feasibility of the route
which Guyer-Zeller suggested, they decided

to have preliminary surveys made. Fortl
with a small party was sent out to discovc
a surface and tunnel line from Klein
Schiedegg to the topmost height of tli
famous peak. The plotters had a periloi
time. Scrambling among the ragged flanl
of this mountain, with its fearsome crag
deep rifts and glaciers, dodging avalanch
and rock-slide, was exciting and dangerou
The engineers sought the finest guides (
the country — men who knew the moui
tains intimately — in order to be guide
through the fastnesses. The promoter <
the scheme had realised the impossibility (
a straight line between the two points, i
the grades would be too steep, so he ha
suggested that the engineers should scare
for an alignment giving a maximum ris
of 1 in 4. The railway plotters were 01
for several months, but when they returne
they had with them a location which coil
cided with Guyer-Zeller's instructions.

The scheme was investigated again, moi
minutely. Although constructional wor
in the upper sections was
certain to be highly expensive
owing to the extent of the tun-
nelling, the financiers decided to father th
project. The financial support was whippe
up, the scheme was carried to the Swis
legislature, and received the necessar
official sanction. Then the preliminar
preparations were hurried forward. On
base was established at Lauterbrunnei
and another at Kleine Schiedegg. Th
Wengernalp Railway was to be used as
supply line, but there was one difficult}
During the tourist season the capacity <
the little line was so taxed that it coul
not be used for the transit of material fc
the new project. Accordingly, immcns
quantities of stores were brought up t
Lauterbrunnen. sent up the mountain b
rail as opportunities occurred, and wei
cached at several convenient points forwar
of Kleine Schiedegg.

At first the going is easy, as, startin
from Schiedegg, the line follows the Schi<

TO THE ETERNAL SNOWS BY RAIL

361

legg Pass to the Eigcr, through a narrow
[ulch which divides the White from the
Black Liitschine. The coming of the rail-
vay has wrought a wonderful change at
schiedegg. Twenty years ago there was

base for the last sections of the railway,
because farther forward there are no avail-
able sites for shops, provision stores, and
other requirements. The arrangements
in this connection have to be planned

t by ll'ellrli, Kilcltberj, Zurich.

THE JUNGFRAU RAILWAY TRAIN.
Showing locomotive with two coaches and the overhead equipment.

lot a house for miles around. To-day there
ire two fine hotels, flanked by shops and
)ther dwellings, while the railway depot is
i busy centre of animation. The Wengern-
ilp Railway, since the first sections of the
Jungfrau road were opened, has developed
.vonderfully, and it is no uncommon cir-
cumstance for 3,000 people to be brought
ap from Lauterbrunnen and Grindclwald
n a single day.

The Eiger Glacier station is 2,187 yards
aeyond Kleine Schicdegg, and in this dis-
;ance 954 feet in altitude are overcome,
giving a grade of 13'17 per cent. At the
aresent moment this is the constructional
46

with extreme care ; nothing must be
omitted, because during the winter, when
construction is in full swing, the upper
parts of the railway arc isolated com-
pletely from the lower stations. Both the
Wengcrnalp and the Jungfrau Railways
are compelled to shut down in October,
owing to the heavy falls of snow which
block the tracks, burying them in places to
a depth of SO feet or more. The supplies
are brought up in the late autumn, when
the tourist traffic has eased up somewhat.
The stocks required for a winter's work
comprise twenty-five car loads, each of six
tons— 150 tons in all. The constructional

362

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

army is somewhat small in comparison with
other enterprises, numbering from 100 to
150 men ; but this is due to the fact that
more cannot be employed, owing to the
confined character of the working area.
The tunnels can only be driven from one

air. At this point there is a central baker
where all the bread for the working gan
is prepared and sent forward as desire
while the provisions are almost exclusive
of the preserved variety, it being impossit
except at rare intervals to get down in

end, and the face is so small that only a the valleys. The water problem is tl

Photograph by ll'ehrli, Kikhberg, Zurict

VIEW FROM A WINDOW AT THE EISMEER STATION SHOWING THE JUNGFRAUJOCH.

handful of men can ply the drills simul-
taneously.

Work at the Eiger Glacier level, although
it lies at an elevation of only 7,634 feet,
is no light undertaking, and it imposes a
severe strain upon the men, not only from
the rarefied air, but from the extreme cold.
In winter the temperature falls to 54°
below freezing point, but the air is dry, so
that the full effect of the low tempera-
ture is not experienced so keenly as in
the damp lowlands, while in January and
February the weather mid-day is so warm
that the workmen often dine in the open

most acute. Not a drop of fresh wat
is to be obtained for love or money, as t
the creeks and torrents are frozen sol:
from November to May. Every ounce hi
to be obtained by melting the snow, ar
when it is remembered that fourtee
quarts of snow yield only one quart <
water, and this commodity is required f<
a hundred and one purposes, the task <
the contractors to meet this need may I
imagined. After many experiments wei
made an ingenious electrieal melting sy
tern was perfected, and in this manni
ample supplies can be secured.

t'hotograj It t>y IS'ehr z, ^.iic/t&erjf, c

EISMEER STATION FROM THE OUTSIDE, SHOWING WINDOWS TWENTY FEET

WIDE CUT IN THE ROCK.

364

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The snowfall in this region is terrific.

It is by no means unusual for the posts

and conductors of the overhead

Snow electrical equipment to be buried
Dangers.

out of sight. The houses of the

workmen arc piled up to a height above
the ground floor windows, demanding
the use of artificial light in the lower
rooms, while the men have to drive tunnels
through the banks to enter their houses.
There is a telephone in operation between
the depot and the valley below, but the
heavy snowfall repeatedly causes inter-
ruptions by breaking the wires. Then the
electrical staff has to turn out and without
delay repair the breaches. Some of the
engineers have become expert on ski, and
when a breakdown in communication occurs,
or an urgent call for aid through accident
is encountered, they embark upon a hazard-
ous journey, often through a driving
blizzard, to Wengcrnalp, the nearest ham-
let. But the snow brings another and
more formidable peril. This is the ava-
lanche, which assumes more terrible pro-
portions with the heaviest snowfalls. These
slides arc of unpleasant frequency, and
come tumbling down the Eigcr slopes with
fiendish velocity. More than once the little
colony has been overwhelmed by an ava-
lanche measuring 200 yards in length by
250 yards wide and 300 feet deep. Cutting
trenches and tunnels through such an
accumulation is no light task. Fortunately,
owing to the purity of the air, disease and
illness are practically unknown. Accident
is the only thing to be feared, and if the
injuries or sickness are such as to be beyond
the resources of the camp and its hospital,
a doctor is summoned from the nearest
village by telephone, the engineers and
overseers, who have been through a course
of special instruction, rendering first-aid
until his arrival. The seriously injured are
then taken as carefully as possible down the
mountain-side and transported to Inter-
laken for treatment.

Between Schiedegg and Eiger Glacier

there is one tunnel 265 feet in length, but
as it runs through what is called " dopger,"
a friable schist, boring was somewhat
dangerous, while masonry lining became
requisite. Outside Eiger Glacier station,
however, what is known as " hochgebirg-
skalk," a hard and tenacious limestone, is
first encountered. The rock being intensely
hard, no masonry lining is required for
tunnels through this material.

Boring was found to be somewhat diffi-
cult, inasmuch as the engineers have been
restricted in the type of drUls
for the work. The Brandt
hydraulic rock drill, though
keenly desired, was impossible, owing to
the deficiency of water, while the gradient,
which is 25 per cent., was an insuperable
obstacle. Under these circumstances it
became necessary to use a drill which can
be handled more conveniently, is readily
dismounted, and easy to move from point
to point. Electric drills were found to be
the most satisfactory, and although many
types were tested, the Siemens and Halske
tool was found to be the best adapted for
the work, and has been in exclusive use
since 1902. These drills are casv to handle,
and about 400 blows per minute are given
with a force of about Ij horse-power per
machine. The tunnel above Eiger Glacier
station is 6 miles in length, and has a
semicircular crown in section, the extreme
height being 14J feet from track level, with
a maximum width of 10 feet. The tunnel
is lighted throughout, and its negotiation
occupies twenty minutes.

The tunnel leads to Eigerwand station,
which is part of the tunnel itself, widened
out to form a huge hall of
arched section. As a station
it is unique, inasmuch as it is
entirely in the heart of the mountain. A
lateral gallery leads from the platform to
the station proper, this approach, hewn
out of the rock, being 20 feet wide by
26 feet long. The station has a super-
ficial area of 2,370 square feet, the roof

A Wonderful
Station.

TO THE ETERNAL SNOWS BY RAIL

365

being supported by solid pillars of rock
left untouched, varying from 10 to 16 feet
in thickness. On the north side the wall
of the mountain has been pierced by huge
apertures 20 feet wide, affording a magni-
ficent view over the field of
mountain peaks and glaciers.

One feature of the con-
cession, which has assisted
this great enterprise very
pronouncedly, was the per-
mission to build the line in
sections, and throw them
open to the public as they
were completed. Thus the
line has been revenue-earn-
ing from the completion of
the first stage to Rotstock,
a temporary station opened
between Eiger Glacier and
Eigerwand on August 2nd,
1899. In that short season
over 22,000 passengers were
carried to the railhead, while
in 1903, when Eigerwand
was brought into the ser-
vice, the number of passen-
gers rose to nearly 30,000
in the season.

Still in tunnel, the railway
climbs another 900 feet in
the course of 1,420 yards to
reach Eismeer station. In
gaining this point at an
altitude of 10,370 feet the
railway has to round the
Eiger, the lower station being on the
north and the upper station on the
south side. This has necessitated the
introduction of a curve of 656 feet
radius. Eismeer station is a counterpart
of that at Eigerwand, being hollowed out
of the solid rock. The railroad tunnel
proper, however, is of greater width, being
of 30 feet, to provide a double track, as
here the up and down trains pass. Although
the station is within the mountain, the
tourist is able to gain the exterior snow,

glaciers, and couloirs by means of a sub-
way, having a gradient of 33 per cent.,
hewn out of the rock, to emerge 130 feet
below the station on to the glacier.

But it is the last section which marks

Photograph by ll'ehrii, kilchberg, Zurich..

GENERAL VIEW OF THE TRACK. SHOWING CENTRAL
RACK-RAIL.

the crowning achievement of the construc-
tional engineer's wonderful skill. Herr
Guycr-Zcller, when he outlined his idea,
stated that his objective was the top of
the Jungfrau, so that the passenger might
be able to step out of the train and stand
on the very highest point of this lofty giant
to gaze upon a most inspiring view. The
engineers, though deprived of his further
stimulating influence, owing to inexorable
Death having overtaken him, are fulfilling
the dreamer's scheme to the letter. Directly

366

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

wraph by ll'elirli, kitchber£, Zurtcrl.

THE APPROACH TO EIGERWAND STATION. SHOWING WINDOW.
The station and approaches are hewn out of the solid rock.

Eismeer station was opened they attacked
the last lap to the Jungfraujoch. It was
realised as being a tough piece of work,
both because it was to be through solid
rock and because of the rarefied atmo-
sphere, which has tried the highly skilled
workmen sorely. It was a pretty stiff pro-
position, since it involved driving a tunnel
for 3,470 yards at an altitude of over
10,500 feet through a great ridge of rock
and ice which connects the peaks of the
Monch and Jungfrau. But after some six
winters' hard work the ridge was pierced,
the rock-hogs emerging into daylight once
more at an altitude of 11,342 feet, where
the Jungfraujoch station has been planted.
The station proper is 190 feet from the
platform, the latter being in a cavern,
while the former is on a massive plinth of
a towering peak which has been levelled
off. The station, like those in the moun-
tain chain at Eigerwand and Eismeer, is

unique in its way, and will be a popular
resort with travellers when completed. It
is being built of solid stone to resist the
ravages of the avalanche, fitted on all sides
with huge plate-glass windows, from which
a panorama over the whole glacial field of
Switzerland is unfolded. In fact, it is safe
to assert that there is not another view-
point in Europe accessible to the ordinary
traveller which offers such a spectacle.

The engineers now are wrestling with the
final 2,272 feet. It cannot be completed
entirely by railroad, as the distance is too
short to secure a grade of 25 per cent., so
a tunnel is being continued to Jungfrau
station at this grade to reach a level of
13,432 feet. The final 240 feet to the peak
of the mountain itself are to be overcome
by an elevator, emerging from which the
traveller will be poised at an elevation of
13,672 feet.

The railway is operated throughout its

TO THE ETERNAL SNOWS BY RAIL

367

length by electricity. The current is drawn
at 5,000 volts from the power house fed by
the wild Triimmclbach. The current is led
through two heavy overhead copper con-
ductors. The track itself is the latest
devised by M. Emile Striib, of Zurich,
which now is adopted throughout Switzer-
land in connection with mountain railways,
with the rack-rail disposed centrally be-
tween the two adhesion metals. The elec-
tric locomotives themselves are claimed
to be the finest mountain engines in the
world, and they have been fitted with every
possible device to prevent running away.
Whether ascending or descending, they
cannot possibly exceed a speed of 5j miles
per hour. Should an attempt be made to
go beyond this velocity, there is an auto-
matic brake, over which the engineer has
no control whatever, which comes into
action and stops the train. But there is
the chance that the electric supply might
break down, in which event the above brake

is driven differently. The motors on the
train become generators to operate this
brake, the current being produced by the
descending weight of the locomotive. Thus
it is absolutely impossible for a train to get
away unless everything fails, which is a
remote contingency. Neither can the train
mount the track. On the front axle of each
locomotive is a powerful gripper, which
clutches the rack, so that the engine can-
not rise. The frame of each engine rests
upon two axle carriers, and each axle is
fitted with a 150 horse-power motor run-
ning at 760 revolutions per minute. The
current is drawn from the overhead wires
through four trolleys, two per phase, while
the negative current is taken up from the
rails through the frame of the engine. Each
train is composed of one locomotive and
two carriages, each of the latter seating
forty passengers. The rolling stock is of
the corridor pattern, with large glazed
Avindows, and fitted with every convenience.

THE JUNGFRAUJOCH STATION. 11.342 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.
Showing lighted tunnel to the exterior of the ridge.

BUILDING A SNOW-SHED ON THE LOFOTEN RAILWAY, SCANDINAVIA.

Combating the Avalanche

HOW THE RAILWAYS PROTECT THEIR LINES FROM THE RAVAGES OF SNOW

WITH COSTLY SNOW-SHEDS

NOW probably is the most im-
placable foe against which the
railway engineer possibly can
be pitted. Fog will throw
traffic all sixes and sevens, and
will cause exasperating delays
by demanding slow, cautious
movement, but snow often ties up a rail-
way completely, bringing about total sus-
pension of the services maybe for days.

Accordingly the railway engineer has
come to regard the snow fiend with every
respect, and has spared no effort to devise

ways and means of circumventing its
ravages. It is not the blizzard which he
dreads so much, though at times when the
snow drifts and scuds over the ground it
brings traffic to a standstill by piling big
white banks in the cuttings through which
a locomotive cannot plough its way, but
the avalanche is his terror. It not only
fills up his cuttings with snow, rock, timber,
and other debris, but, unless precautions
are adopted to mitigate its effects, is able
to knock the permanent way out of all
recognition, demanding not only clearing

368

THE CONQUEST OF THE AVALANCHE.

To secure protection against the destructive effects of snow slides at exposed places, massive

timber, masonry, or ferro-concrete sheds are built over the line.
12

COMBATING THE AVALANCHE

369

The C.P.R.

Snow-sheds.

but reconstruction of the track before the
trains can be run.

In districts where snow wages its re-
lentless warfare against human handiwork
with seasonal regularity, the engineer prac-
tises the precept that " Prevention is better
than cure." He makes no attempt to
arrest the progress of the snow movements,
but lets them go their way unimpeded,
merely striving to divert them clear of the
track, so as to expend their destructive
energy harmlessly at some other place.

The Canadian Pacific Railway always
has suffered severely from the buffet-
ings of the avalanche, or
" snow-slide," as it is called
locally. These assaults are
experienced particularly in the mountains
upon the 140 miles between Sicamous
Junction and Golden.

The mountain section of this railway
traverses five — through two, and over three —
mountain ranges. Coming eastwards from
the Pacific the line, following the Fraser
and Thompson Rivers, passes through
the Coast and Cascade Ranges at a com-
paratively low level. At no point does
the train rise to an elevation exceeding
1,200 feet above the sea. In these ranges
a very heavy rainfall, varying from 70 to
105 inches per annum, is encountered. On
the other hand there is almost a total
absence of snow.

Continuing eastwards the railway passes
over three other ranges in rapid succession.
These are respectively the Gold Range,
the Selkirk Range, and the Main Range
of the Rocky Mountains. As a matter of
fact the two first named ramparts are
subsidiaries of the great North American
mountain system, but the Main Range of
the Rockies is so-called in order to dis-
tinguish it from the others. In these
three ranges the railway attains consider-
ably higher elevations than upon any other
part of the mountain section, the summits
of the passes being respectively 1,900,
4,300, and 5,300 feet. Here the annual
47

snowfall is very heavy. On the railway
the average fall is 25 feet in the Gold
Range, 35 feet in the Selkirks, and from
14 to 15 feet in the Rockies. Thus it will
be seen that the Selkirks receive the
heaviest precipitation, and the 35 feet
average often has been exceeded. The
heaviest maximum snowfall recorded is
45 feet 7 inches, but there is an uncon-
firmed report that in one winter the fall
reached 56 feet !

The reason why the snowfall is so
heavy in the Gold and Selkirk ranges is
because these are the first

high mountains encountered S"°^ in, .

the Rockies.

by the moisture - saturated
clouds which drift eastwards from the
Pacific Ocean. These high ridges intercept
the cloud movements, with the result that
the moisture with which they are laden
becomes precipitated — rain in summer and
snow in winter. By the time the air
currents have reached the Main Range of
the Rocky Mountains they have been
deprived of the greater part of their
moisture, and thus, being comparatively
dry, the snowfall on the last named range
is much lighter, although the ridge is
approximately 2,000 feet higher than the
other ranges to the west.

Therefore it will be seen that, while
there is a considerable volume of snow to
be handled in both the main and its two
subsidiary ranges lying immediately to the
west, the snow-fighting efforts to keep the
line clear have to be concentrated upon
that section of the railway extending
through the Selkirks, with the Gold Range
as a good second.

During the very first winter, when the
railway builders were toiling among the
crags and precipices of the Selkirks, laying
the bond of steel, the severity of the snow
movements was driven home upon the
Canadian Pacific Railway engineers very
compellingly. The permanent Avay is prac-
tically side-hill excavation through the
range. As the grade runs at right angles

370

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

to the paths of the snow-slides it is exposed and are littered with boulders and masses
to the full brunt of any movements, of huge rock, as well as being thickly
Accidents innumerable have been caused clothed with timber. When the snow
through the snow, but, owing to the moves in a mass, and commences its down-
vigilance and unremitting care displayed ward descent, it gathers an immense
by the railway officials, casualties have accumulation of timber and rock, which

it hurls downwards with terrific
force. It is doubtful whether
any but those who are brought
face to face with these slides
can form any idea of the enor-
mous force they exert. Few
engineers have acquired such
knowledge of this phenomenon
and its results as Mr. J. P.
Forde, who for many years
was enginecr-in-charge of the
mountain division of the Cana-
dian Pacific Railway, and who,
perforcedly, was brought into
intimate contact with the snow
movements and how to avoid
or to mitigate their devastating
caprices.

This engineer, to wiiom I am
indebted for the accompany-
ing information concerning this
phase of operations upon the
first Canadian transcontinental
railway, narrated that on one
occasion a slide was timed in
its descent. After attaining its
full dimensions it travelled for
a distance of 2,500 feet down
the steep hill - side in thirty
When it had come to rest it
has been a heartrending calamity. The was measured, and was found to average
railway, however, suffers more heavily from 500 feet in width, 40 feet in depth, and
the delays which are set up by the line 2,000 feet in length. As the snow at the
becoming choked with snow and debris, time was packed closely it weighed about
Thus the problem has been to reduce this 50 pounds per cubic foot. Consequently,

INTERIOR OF SNOW-SHED ON THE CANADIAN PACIFIC
RAILWAY.

been few, although now and again there seconds.

adverse factor to the very smallest degree.
Snow-shedding was the obvious measure

when the slide attained its maximum
velocity it was travelling at a speed

of protection, but it was admitted that exceeding 60 miles per hour, while the

such works would have to be of a remark- total weight of the moving mass of snow,

ably massive design and solid construction ice, rock, earth, timber, and so forth was

to withstand the buffeting of the snow about 1,000,000 tons !

movements. The mountain slopes are steep Is it surprising under these circumstances

DIFFERENT TYPES OF SNOW-SHEDS.

372

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

that huge trees are torn up like weeds, and
snapped in twain like carrots, or that huge
pieces of rock are wrenched from the moun-
tain side and tossed about like pebbles?
At the same time one can appreciate the
unequal odds against which the engineer
is pitted, and the ingenuity he is compelled
to display in order to protect the slender
link of communication from annihilation.
Of course, it would be impossible to build
any kind of structure capable of with-
standing the impact of such a slide as that
referred to. It is only possible to design
the protective works in such a way as to
achieve the desired end without offering
any resistance to the movement.

The sheds are invariably built of timber,
although recently ferro-concrete has been
brought into service as a con-
How the structional material, as described
Sheds are

Planned. elsewhere. Remarkable inge-
nuity and skill are displayed
in evolving the type of shed best adapted
to the prevailing conditions. No one type
possibly could meet every situation. Thus
the sheds are not only of great variety, but
a single shed even may be of a composite
character, the variations occurring at differ-
ent points to secure the desired result to
the best advantage.

The main idea in carrying out work of
this nature is to plan the shed so that it
fits as closely as possible to the ground
where it is built. Accordingly the structure
may be of apparent simple and light design ;
on the other hand it may appear to be
intricate and unwarrantably heavy. The
grade being laid on a shelf excavated out
of the mountain side, the engineer strives
to restore the former contour of the hill
side, so as to carry the debris harmlessly over
and clear of the line. If this is impractic-
able, then he designs his roof in such a
manner that it offers the least resistance
to the moving mass. Moreover, he studies
the character of the snow-slide and its
accustomed path attentively, modifying his
details of design according to the velocities

of the avalanche, dimensions, weights, and
composition. In some places the length
of travel is comparatively short, the bulk
small, and for the most part comprising
snow only. In another the descent will
be sharp, the travelling speeds very high,
with timber, loose rock, and detritus loom-
ing largely in the mass, increasing its
weight and dimensions. Also he takes into
consideration the contour of the ground
on either side of the line, since if it rises
up again on the lower side, he has to bear
in mind the possibility of the slide falling
back after it has passed over the shed.

In the diagrams on page 371 different
types of sheds are illustrated, and these
are capable of modification to an
indefinite degree. The " A " or £ypes of
" K " type is perhaps the most
familiar from pictorial representation.
Here, on the mountain side of the line,
an immense rock crib is built, balks of
timber dovetailed, bolted together, and
fitted to the wall, being packed and loaded
with massive pieces of rock, while the roof
is finished off to the slope of the moun-
tain so as to form a sharp continuation
thereof. On the opposite side the uprights
comprise huge posts spaced closely together,
heavily braced and strutted, to secure
rigidity and strength for the roof. By
giving the latter a sharp fall, the moving
mass can be thrown clear of the structure
on the lower side, to tumble into the valley
below. In the " B " type the rock cribwork
is placed on either side, forming virtually a
wooden tunnel for the line. In this form
the protective wall on the lower side serves
to prevent the debris damming back into
the grade as might occur owing to the
ground not falling away. In " C," as the
track runs through a shallow cutting it is
necessary to build up the slope formation
on the mountain side so as to lift the
avalanche almost imperceptibly over the
track. The " E " and " F " or " J " types
are modifications of this design, and are
generally introduced at such places where,

COMBATING THE AVALANCHE

373

owing to the configuration of the ground,
the slide becomes somewhat spent before
reaching the line. Type " D " is somewhat
simpler, being adapted to those points
where the line skirts a precipice, and where
it is probable that the avalanche invariably
attains a high velocity, so that it clears the
track quickly, instead of dropping directly
on to it. Type " G " is useful where small
pure snow movements are likely to be
experienced, or where, owing to the open
character of the location, the snow is likely
to drift heavily. The " H," "I," and
" L " types are more elaborate, and are
modifications of one another. There is a
double roof, with intervening rafts and
bracing. These are used at points where
the slides are apt to bring down masses of
rock and timber. The final type, " M," is
a simple means of throwing the snow clear
of the line. On the mountain side the heavy
rock crib is built up to support massive
balks which are laid so as to point upward
over the track. The lower ends of these
timbers are buried, and the ground shaped
to form a hollow. The descending snow
rushes into the depression and up the
inclined plane to fly into the air and to
fall clear of the track, the clearance varying
with the velocity of the avalanche. This
is the system which has been adopted
extensively, only in masonry, upon the
Lotschberg Railway.

The snow-shed is a costly protection.
The more elaborate and heavy types run

up to as much as £40,000 per
Fire
Dangers.

mile to build. In one or two

instances this figure has been
exceeded, especially in places where the
timber has had to be hauled from a
distance. While the engineer by snow-
shedding protects the line from one danger
he invites another. This is fire. A spark
from a locomotive may set the structure
ablaze, and, once the flames secure a
strong hold, destruction of the work is
certain, since the shed acts as a huge
flue. But the forest fire is dreaded more

than the spark from the passing engine.
Among the Selkirks this terror of the
forest wreaks widespread havoc every
year. In order to reduce the losses from
this cause the sheds are built in short
sections, with long gaps between, so that
the possibility of the flames " jumping "
is reduced. Incidentally it is the forest
fires which accentuate the severity of the
avalanche. The trees come toppling down
as their roots are burned away, or are
scorched into lifelessness, so that they
succumb readily to such an attack as snow
movements or even of the wind. The sides
of the mountains thus become littered
with gaunt trunks, maybe one hundred feet
in length, and when these are picked up
by the slide and hurled downward, they
strike an obstruction with the force of a
battering ram.

In order to guard against the ravages
of the fire-fiend water pipes are carried
through the sheds, and at
close intervals hydrants and

Precautions
Against Fire.

lines of hose are provided
ready for instant use. The sheds are
patrolled day and night, so that an out-
break may be caught in the incipient stage.
Telephone facilities enable the watchman
to get into touch with assistance, so that
fire-fighting forces can be hurried up if the
conflagration gets beyond the man on the
spot. During the summer season, when
the forest fires are raging, the patrolling
forces are doubled and trebled if necessary.
The necessity of these elaborate precautions
will be appreciated when it is remembered
that a burning shed not only represents
a heavy monetary loss, but what is far
more important upon such a line as the
Canadian Pacific with its heavy transconti-
nental business, provokes a serious delay
to traffic.

The distances, or " fire breaks," between
the snow-sheds vary from 100 to 200 feet
according to conditions. The possibilities
of a snow-slide rattling down and smashing
up the line in these open spaces is eliminated

374

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

by the heavy " glance " cribs or " split
fences " planted on the mountainside above
the line, which serve to divide the avalanche,
sending it flying over the adjacent sheds.
Now and again the " glance " crib does

A CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY ROTARY
SNOW-PLOUGH AT WORK.

Note the stream of snow being thrown to
the side.

not fulfil its avowed purpose completely,
so that the open part of the line becomes
choked, if not damaged, but such incidents
are comparatively uncommon; the "split
fence " seldom fails.

Nature appeared to resent the ingenuity
of the engineer at the onset, since the line
scarcely had been opened when it was
subjected to an unusually savage assault
during the winter of 1886-7. The snow-
fall was terrific, 8J feet falling within a

week, while for three weeks it snowed
incessantly. As a result the avalanche
season was unduly lively, and the rumblings
and groanings, roars and crashes, of the
moving masses were continuous night and
day. The conditions on the Selkirks are
somewhat peculiar. There may be a heavy
snow-fall. Then comes a warm spell, as
the chinook wafts over the range, accom-
panied by heavy winter rain storms. The
snow is half-melted, when a sharp spell
of severe frost sets in, converting the
slushy mass into ice. The line was opened
for traffic before snow-shedding had been
completed, and as a result many of the
open stretches of side-hill excavation be-
came filled with the debris of avalanches.
When the frost gripped the debris the
snow-fighters had a harassing time. Picks
and shovels made no impression — the hetero-
geneous mass of snow, earth, rock, ice,
and timber had to be blasted out in big
chunks, and several days elapsed before a
passage 40 feet deep, and just wide enough
to admit the trains, was driven.

Yet despite all the precautions which can
be taken, the snow-shed at times comes
to grief, being either crushed under the
terrific weight imposed or carried away and
ground to splinters. Rocks and timber in
the snow are responsible for this destruc-
tion "as a rule. They tear an opening in
the roof, when the moving snow secures a
purchase upon the structure, wrenching it
to pieces. The imprisoned air also plays
sad havoc in such cases. Unable to escape,
and becoming heavily compressed, it ex-
ercises a terrific bursting strain upon the
artificial tunnel. The timber creaks, groans
and bends until it cannot withstand another
ounce of pressure. Then it flies, with a
crashing report. Widespread damage is
inevitable, and the engineer anticipates a
long ding-dong battle against time in his
effort to restore communication.

The capriciousness of the avalanche is
extraordinary at times. On one occasion
a slide swept down a steep slope from a

CLEARING A SLIDE FROM THE TRACK BY HAND.
The quantity of timber in the slide prevented the use of any type of snow-plough.

RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD

SNOW-SLIDE SCENE AT ROGERS PASS.

Looking out of snow-shed partly wrecked by

slide.

point some 4,000 feet above. It hit the
roof of the shed with tremendous force.
The top was torn off bodily, but instead
of being carried down into the valley, was
hurled some 200 feet up the mountain slope
above the line. The interior of the shed
was filled with muck, which continued to
a depth of 30 feet above the walls of the
structure. When the snow-fighters appeared
and buckled into the clearing task they
found huge cavities or " pockets " in the
debris, where the air had been caught,
and, unable to escape, owing to the velocity
of the slide, had been compressed. The
displacement of the roof was the most

remarkable feature, and to this day
the engineers cannot determine decisively
whether it was torn off by the snow-slide
or blown up the mountain side by the burst-
ing effort of the compressed air.

But the peril of the snow-slide soon will
be a thing of the past upon the mountain
section of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
The authorities have now decided to
escape the snow movements once and for
all. The worst stretch of the danger zone
is to be tunnelled at a cost of about
£4,000,000. Not only will this .avoid the
snow-swept reaches, but it will provide
the line with an easier grade.

END OF SNOW-SHED AKTER SLIDE HAS BEEN
CLEARED OUT.

Observe the baulks of timber brought down by
the avalanche.

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE, LONDON, B.C.

004261456

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